A CALSTOCK charity is being billed £49 a month in water rates for using six kettles of water a week. The Calstock Development Trust says it would be cheaper to cut off the water supply and use bottled water instead. Trustees and staff are outraged that their small premises in Gunnislake ? the Oasis Centre ? which is only open to the public two days a week ? has been unable to get a discount on the bill or get a water meter fitted. ?We have no toilet facility, we use two kettles of water for making hot drinks three days a week and get a quarterly account for £176,? said trustee Graham Parker. ?We have been told by South West Water they cannot fit a water meter because we are on a shared supply and that if we do not pay our bill we will be disconnected. If they can disconnect us why can?t they fit a meter? ?Our bill last year was £42 a month but this year it has gone up by £7. We asked for a reduction but have been told we cannot have one because we are commercial. This is a charity not a money-making venture. It is ridiculous.? The Oasis Centre offers internet facilities for the unemployed, single parents and others who do not have access at home. Staff can help with job searches, filling in application forms and producing CVs. The equipment is also used by children after school to do their homework. ?We have a very tight budget and are desperate for grant funding just like a lot of other charities,? added Mr Parker. Louise Bennett from South West Water said the trust was located within a commercial property and therefore was being charged a commercial rateable value set by the water company?s regulators. She said the charity was being charged for both water and sewerage ? the latter made up 80% of the bill ? because an outside toilet, which was not used, was still connected to the supply. ?A surveyor has been to see the charity and the advice was to disconnect the toilet so a water meter can be fitted internally to the stop-tap that serves the kitchen sink,? she said. ?This way staff would only be charged for the water they use.? Mrs Bennett said as far as outstanding bills were concerned South West Water could not disconnect the supply if it was shared with another premises that was operating but it could pursue the matter through the courts. It is understood the quarterly water bill for the Oasis Centre has now been paid.
