EXCLUSIVE
By ANDREW PARKER
Published: Today at 00:31
A THRIFTY couple who won £3.1million on the Lottery are planning to buy their council house — with a 60 per cent discount.
Charlie Gillion, 64, is one of 12 bus drivers who shared a £38million EuroMillions jackpot earlier this year.
But he and wife Penelope, 65, have shunned a flash lifestyle and applied to the local council to buy their £100,000 three-bed semi, their home for 37 years.
And because they have been there for so long they will qualify to get 60 per cent off the purchase price under the Right to Buy scheme.
They could now get the home in Corby, Northants, for as little as £40,000.
Retired cleaner Penelope, 65, said: “We are waiting for the council to write to us and tell us the value of the house and then we will go ahead and buy it. We have been here for 37 years so we will probably qualify for the discount but we do not know until we get the paperwork through with the value. But we’re not going to leave Corby.”
Generous Charlie and Penelope are known to have already dished out dosh to their family.
And the couple are even considering handing over their home to their granddaughter at some point.
The Government’s Right to Buy scheme was set up to help lower earners get on the property market.
There is no suggestion the Gillions are doing anything wrong.
Emma Boon, from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The council should not punish the couple for their win by making them move.
“However, it’s wrong for this couple to rely on social housing now they are millionaires.
“It would be nice if they paid the full value of the property. This would reflect both their new fortune and the way taxpayers have supported them over the years to live in the place they call home.”
a.parker@the-sun.co.uk
Social Plugin