The Northumberland Log Bank.

Northumberland log bank expects increase in demand this year after winter fuel payment axed

The Northumberland Log Bank supports around 250 households in the county who are in fuel poverty and use "old technology" to heat their homes

by · ChronicleLive

A rural charity which supports Northumberland residents in fuel poverty is expecting its busiest season yet after the Winter Fuel Allowance was axed.

Northumberland Log Bank, which donates logs to family who use so-called "old technology" to heat their homes, such as wood-burning stoves and open fires. The charity has already been receiving enquiries ahead of the colder months for weeks, with deliveries restarting in October.

The charity expects demand to increase after controversial plans to remove the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners were rubber stamped in Parliament last week, despite several North East MPs abstaining from the vote. The £300 payment will now becomes means tested, and restricted to those on pension credit or other benefits.

The Log Bank provides for around 250 families throughout the county. Households were previously given eight 15kg bags of logs over a four-week period, but had to reduce that after demand increased in winter 2023.

Fiona Read, administrator at the Northumberland Log Bank, said: "There were already so many people who were on the breadline of needing it, and we'll just see an increase. We were already struggling with the number of requests we had.

"We had to reduce the number of bags we were taking to each household last year, and if we have to do that again, unfortunately we will."

Fiona Read, administrator at the Northumberland Log Bank(Image: Fiona Read)

The Log Bank previously had five sites across Northumberland, but has scaled back to just two; one in Haydon Bridge and another run from a volunteer's garden. There are around 12 volunteers across both sites who deliver the wood to households in need.

Some households use up to a bag a night to heat their home. Fiona added: "Some people were totally dependent on what we gave them and had nothing extra such as coal, and we'd keep them warm for a very short while, while others are using it to subsidise what they already have."

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Fiona believes that the blanket removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance is "unfair". She said: "I can appreciate the rich receiving it did seem to jar a little, but then a lot of people donated that to charity, so it's a tough one in my personal opinion.

"What you need in the north is possibly different from other areas because we have a higher level of fuel poverty in the north. In rural areas, it's very difficult to heat some of the homes, and I think given the condition of the homes in the North East, it's a shock to remove that extra bit of money from people."

She believes that there should be a "proper system in place", and that people should have had more time to plan for how to save for this winter. She added "People get warnings that this is going to happen and they get time to consider it, but to just switch off between one winter and the next, it seems a little cruel."

For more information on the Northumberland log bank, visit the website.

It was revealed earlier this week that an estimated 4,733 households in Northumberland are missing out on thousands of pounds each year by not claiming money they are eligible for. Northumberland Labour have encouraged people to check their eligibility for Pension Credit, which can be worth up to £4,000 a year.

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Sources - Newcastle City Council/Newcastle Council of Elders