Latest news with #Tayside-based
The Courier
2 days ago
- Business
- The Courier
Forfar Gables vandalism bill revealed as affordable housing plans resurface
The cost of combating vandals at The Gables in Forfar has been revealed as it emerged multi-million pound affordable housing plans for the site are back on track. In 2024, Angus Council closed the Arbroath Road centre for adults with learning disabilities. It had operated for around 40 years. Eight residents left The Gables on March 27 last year after the service was moved to the former Beech Hill residential home in Lour Road, Forfar. Security measures alone since the home closed have cost more than £15,000. Angus councillors had previously agreed to transfer the Gables site to Caledonia Housing Association. The Tayside-based landlord drew up proposals for a development of around 20 affordable homes. But the deal was never finalised after CHA dropped the scheme due to spiralling costs. The Courier can now confirm the project is back on the cards after policy committee councillors approved the land transfer to CHA for the second time. A report recommending the site transfer was agreed in private on Tuesday. And we can also reveal the cost of tackling vandalism there since the doors were closed. Shocking images from inside The Gables showed the state of the building following a deliberate fire there in February. Angus Council has spent £15,491 on security measures and repairs at the site since it closed. The figure was part of a Freedom of Information response around expenditure at The Gables since 2019. Between the council and Angus Health and Social Care Partnership, the planned and unplanned maintenance figure exceeded £135,000. Totals for the council's planned and unplanned maintenance over the period are: The 2024/25 figure largely comprises the vandalism costs. AHSCP's total outlay was £51,166 over the period. The council said there had been 'six or seven entries or attempted entry and various degrees of vandalism' to the property. Only one required the attendance of Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, according to the authority. A spokesperson for Caledonia Housing Association said: 'We welcome Angus Council's decision to approve the transfer of The Gables site. 'The legal process has yet to begin and no date for the transfer has been set. 'Any future development will require a fresh planning application, which will be informed by local housing needs and developed in partnership with Angus Council. 'Caledonia will not assume responsibility for securing and maintaining the site until the legal process is complete.'
Daily Record
01-05-2025
- Daily Record
Gangland enforcers dodge jail after petrol bombing luxury car over £100k drug debt
Lloyd McKay and Calvin Gilmour targeted the parents of a man who owed money. A pair of underworld enforcers who petrol bombed a couple's luxury car outside their home have dodged being sent to prison. Gangland hoods Lloyd McKay and Calvin Gilmour carried out the firebomb attack as a warning over their son's £100,000 drug debt. The bungling duo were caught after one was left with scorch marks on his hands and burnt hair and their escapade was captured on CCTV cameras. A court heard it was the first of two terrifying attacks on the debt-owing addict son's Tayside-based parents by gangland figures from Glasgow. Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown ordered McKay to carry out 270 hours unpaid work after hearing he would have to do "light duties" because of a spinal injury. She told Gilmour to carry out 225 hours unpaid work and ordered both accused to stay away indefinitely from the couple they targeted. McKay, 24, and Gilmour, 21, were sent to the Dundee area to issue a blunt threat to the couple to cover their son's debts. At Forfar Sheriff Court, both admitted wilfully setting fire to the Mercedes parked outside the family home on October 27, 2022, and damaging it so badly it was written-off. Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told the court: "The father received phone calls saying he now owed a drug debt his son had racked up for £100,000." The mystery caller warned: "You better sort it out with your boy or it's going to get taken out on youse." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "The father was at home when he heard his wife's car alarm sounding and he looked outside to see the car was ablaze and contacted police and the fire brigade. "He tried to put it out with a garden house, but it had not much effect. There was a strong smell of petrol coming from the vehicle. They were immediately suspicious that it related to the earlier phone calls." Ms Wilkinson said the father got another call to ask if his car was on fire, and the limited insurance payout meant the couple were left £21,000 out of pocket. Detectives found footage showing McKay's vehicle entering a petrol station nearby and mobile phone records confirmed he had driven from Glasgow to the house. The duo were seen to buy water bottles at the garage and an investigation confirmed some had been filled with petrol and hurled into the car after the window had been smashed with a brick. One of the duo had burn marks to his hands and to his head and had been found to have Googled 'how to fix burnt hair?' They owned the mobile number which contacted the victim. Two other gangland hoods have already been jailed for targeting the same family in a bid to scare them into clearing off their son's huge drug debt. Lewis Goldfarb, 41, was jailed for two years and Robert Notman, 47, was sent to prison for 14 months for targeting the family in December 2022. Notman made two 160-mile round trips to slash tyres and smash windows to terrify the parents at their quiet residential villa. He and fellow henchman Lewis Goldfarb had been sent to Dundee by their mystery underworld boss in Glasgow to "persuade" them to pay. Notman and Goldfarb admitted trying to extort money from the mother on December 5, 2022, by informing her that her son owed money to people in Glasgow. Goldfarb admitted slashing car tyres in Invergowrie the same day. Both admitted returning six days later, when Goldfarb brought a knife and slashed the tyres of a Transit van after demanding entry to a rental property owned by another relative. He admitted smashing the family's CCTV camera to hide evidence of their visit, while Notman admitted banging the door, demanding entry and smashing a window. Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova previously told the court: " Their CCTV captured the full incident with audio and visual. She became aware of a camera activation. "She went outside and saw two males behind the security gate, next to a Transit van. Both had prominent Glasgow accents. She was aware this was an incident relating to issues to do with her son's drug debts." When the duo returned to the family home the following week, the mother was alone and was left terrified as they banged the door and smashed a window. The police managed to trace the duo within the hour and Goldfarb was found to be carrying a lock-knife. The court was told both men had a history of violence.
