REDVALES residents who faced a demand for ground rent they had already paid are being urged not to shell out for a second time by Bury North MP David Chaytor.

After successfully intervening on behalf of one constituent, Mr Chaytor says other residents issued with an additional demand for "chief rent" should not pay it.

Householders in Pembroke Drive, Cardigan Drive, and Brecon Drive received demands for a £5-per-year leasehold rent they had already paid to collection agents.

Lichfield-based Shenstone Properties, which collects the rent and should have received the money through solicitors, said the money did not arrive.

The firm said that "regretfully", the sums would have to be paid again.

Householder Mr Peter Bone wrote a letter to Mr Chaytor, who contacted Shenstone to inquire about the charges. The firm wrote back to the MP, saying that the "arrears" would be waived in his case.

Mr Chaytor said: "I'm delighted that Shenstone responded to my letter in this way.

"I have got some sympathy with the company, because they appear to have been victims of a third party who refused to hand over the money that was owed to them.

"However, after the success in getting Mr Bone's charges overturned, I would now encourage other constituents on the estate to also resist payment. It is entirely unfair that they should be asked to pay this amount when they have already paid their share."

The MP added that demand for additional charges highlighted inadequacies in leasehold legislation.

Pembroke Drive resident Mr Bone said: "I am delighted about it. I don't know what was going on but I'm glad that it was resolved after Mr Chaytor got involved.

"It was not a lot of money, but it was the principle of the thing. They were asking me for money that I did not owe."

Payment demands were also dropped against a Brecon Drive resident whose solicitor complained to Shenstone, as recently featured in the Bury Times.

A spokesman for Shenstone said the firm had done nothing untoward, but would not comment on individual cases.