Latest news with #TorryCommunityRaacCampaign
Press and Journal
3 days ago
- General
- Press and Journal
Trapped by Raac: Have your say at Aberdeen 'Question Time' event
As part of The Press and Journal's Trapped by Raac campaign we are staging a Question Time-style event in Aberdeen. Bringing together those impacted by the concrete crisis and the leaders charged with finding a way through it, we'd like to hear from you. Aberdeen city councillors, MSPs, MPs and ministers have been invited to join members of the Torry Community Raac Campaign group for the evening. Whether you are a homeowner or tenant affected by Raac, a concerned Torry resident wondering what life will be like living next to a building site, or just an Aberdeen taxpayer who has an opinion on who should foot the bill, send us your thoughts and questions. During our campaign, amidst heartrending stories of suffering and anguish, we've identified several questions to be resolved, including: More issues were raised during last week's live P&J Raac debate. If you would like to share your opinion or ask a question, use the form below. We'll be sharing footage and content from the event afterwards.
Press and Journal
4 days ago
- General
- Press and Journal
Lindsay Bruce: Sheila McDonald's tragic death shines spotlight on reality of Torry Raac scandal
The reality and the why behind our Trapped by Raac campaign has hit home in recent weeks. We recently lost one of our campaign stalwarts. Sheila McDonald, previously featured alongside husband George in our coverage, suffered a heart attack and died in the home she's been fighting to save. The couple had just celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary and are among throngs of defiant homeowners standing their ground to get fair prices for their Raac-riddled homes. The retired pair have never missed a protest. They've attended every community meeting. Both George and Sheila's faces are even on our Trapped by Raac poster. They epitomise why we launched the campaign in the first place; Because every day, honest, hard-working people aren't able to enjoy their lives – or their retirements – while the injustice of Raac is quite literally hanging over their heads. So I felt it impossible to let her loss pass, without paying tribute to her, and to acknowledge the Sheila-shaped hole in her community. I dropped my phone when the text arrived from George to let me know Sheila had passed. Just days before, we carried a report from Torry doctor Adrian Crofton about the long-term impact stress is having on the hearts and minds of the good people of Balnagask. Less than a week earlier I saw Sheila at the White Cockade where I joked with her that she was 'Torry famous' when she held up a poster bearing her own image. And it wasn't even a fortnight since I'd sat in George and Sheila's living room listening to them speak about how they felt their fate had been decided by seemingly uncaring councillors, scrolling on their phones. Sheila told me that day that her blood pressure was 'through the roof'. No wonder, I thought. As news spread in Torry about Sheila's death at the start of May, I kept hearing the same remarks. 'She was so faithful to the Torry Community Raac Campaign.' The reality of that filled me with such sadness. The last 18 months of Sheila's life have been encased in Raac. 'I wish I'd never retired,' she told me, because she felt her beautiful home was no longer a place of peace. When we ask for signatures and support – this is why. The lived reality for the 500+ households in Balnagask who had the Raac crisis thrust upon them, is so far from peaceful. For many it's at times more of a living agony. Through no fault of their own. These are grandparents, aunts and uncles. They're mums and dads. They're someone's grown-up children, first-time buyers, newlyweds… They are grandchildren, widows, people with disabilities, single people, married, young, old, working and retired. All on the brink of losing it all. And so this week I want to make a call directly to those in decision-making positions. I've researched this issue. I know the history. I've witnessed the political to-ing and fro-ing, and I'm aware of the costs involved. I realise housing is devolved. And that the Raac homes were built before this current ACC administration. Honestly, if it's been written about Raac, I've probably read it. So I ask you, knowing all that, We NEED a collegiate response to this crisis. We NEED elected leaders to be both fair and compassionate. And we NEED those whose job it is to serve the people, to put those people first. As we gathered to celebrate the life of Sheila, It was clear her legacy will be as a wonderful mother, grandmother, wife and a friend. She'll also be remembered, and will be much-missed as a tireless campaigner for those Trapped by Raac. I wonder if the legacies of Aberdeen City Council, and our national and UK governments will be similar? It's not too late to collegiately, creatively and compassionately do the right thing. People before politics, please. You can read the family announcement here.
Press and Journal
28-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Debate: Torry Raac crisis — who should foot the bill to save Aberdeen homes?
Torry homeowners Trapped by Raac have pressed Aberdeen City Council to consider other options to avoid the demolition of their houses. Of more than 500 Balnagask homes set to be razed to the ground due to unstable 'bubbly' concrete in their roofs, 138 are privately owned. And until this week ACC's only solution to the crisis was to buy-back properties from owner occupiers on a voluntary basis, so the site can be cleared and redeveloped. However, low valuations on their homes – on average £50,000 less than their pre-Raac values – means the local authority has only managed to acquire four of nearly 140 private homes. This week, the Torry Community Raac Campaign and The P&J encouraged councillors to consider other creative solutions. Following intense workshop sessions with council officers, homeowners asked again for fair offers, reflecting pre-Raac crisis prices for their houses. A 'home for a home' scheme where private homeowners can swap their current home for one of ACC's council stock, at a similar value, was also considered. A third option is for those who don't want to leave Balnagask. In this scenario, a cluster of homes could be identified and the roofs could be replaced. However, who will pay for this is where Aberdeen City Council and Torry families differ. ACC wants homeowners to take out low-cost loans to pay for their roof replacements. But owners say they're in this situation through no fault of their own, and that the council built and then sold the houses, so they should pay. As feelings run high and with the mental health toll on families only worsening, we're asking the Aberdeen public what should happen? Who should pay and what can be done to bring about justice for homeowners about to lose everything they've worked for? Keep an eye out for our debates published each week. Our journalist will be in the comments from 10-11am each Thursday, responding to your opinions.
Press and Journal
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Press and Journal
Torry Raac campaigners react after SNP minister talks in Aberdeen
Torry Raac campaigners made heartfelt pleas to the SNP housing minister in a face-to-face meeting as they argued residents are caught in the middle of a blame game. Paul McLennan met members of the Torry Community Raac Campaign in Balnagask on Friday for the first time since the crisis unfolded more than a year ago. Affected homeowners handed him around 40 letters penned by local residents and shared their stories in emotional testimony during the one-hour meeting. The potentially dangerous Raac material was discovered in 500 council and private homes in the Balnagask area. Resident Lynn Winstanley, who took part in the meeting, said she felt the minister did listen to their concerns even if it did take him too long to visit. But she said homeowners are caught in the middle of a blame game taking place between the city council, Scottish Government and UK Government over funding. Aberdeen City Council plans to demolish the affected properties by 2028 – despite an ongoing wrangle where some owners are refusing to sell. The Balnagask resident would like to see the Scottish Government set up a fund to ensure homeowners are compensated for the full value of their home. Currently the city council is offering only current market value, with residents facing losses of between £35,000 and £55,000 on average. She said: 'In the middle of all this is human beings here whose lives are being affected morning, noon and night. Their families are being affected. 'For me, I don't care who is to blame, I don't know if anyone is to blame, but they all need to finally come together and sort the problem out.' Ian Lippe, chair of the Torry Community Raac Campaign, said campaigners are being 'pushed from pillar to post' in their fight for funding. He received the valuation from the council for his house in the week leading up to Christmas and looks set to lose about £50,000. The campaigner said: 'There doesn't seem to be any urgency in trying to get a solution for us. It's still very much 'ah we'll see'.' He added: 'What we've always said is give us full value for our houses and you can have our keys tomorrow.' The P&J asked Mr McLennan why it had taken him so long to visit the community when it was well documented that hundreds of families were in crisis. Failing to apologise for his absence, he said he had 'engaged extensively' with the local council, holding around eight to 10 meetings with officials in the past year. The housing minister said building safety is the responsibility of local authorities and said it is for the UK Government to set up a UK-wide fund. But the UK Government claims it is for devolved administrations – such as Holyrood – and relevant local councils. He said Aberdeen City Council had yet to submit any 'detailed proposals' on funding. Aberdeen City Council co-leader Christian Allard, who also met Mr McLennan on Friday, said the council has pushed for funding and funding flexibility 'from the outset'. The SNP councillor added: 'We do need to have a plan from both governments about how we can support local authorities to better support our own tenants and owner occupiers as well.' The P&J last week launched its campaign. It builds on our continuing work to highlight the plight of ordinary people facing ruin through no fault of their own.
Press and Journal
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Press and Journal
Trapped by Raac: Support Aberdeen families, download your poster today
After a great first week of our Trapped by Raac campaign, where more than 1,000 of you added your name to the homeowners' petition, we are today giving you the tools to take this campaign to every home, street and suburb of Aberdeen and beyond. As part of our continuing work to highlight the plight of ordinary people facing ruin through no fault of their own, we are today launching a campaign poster for you to use. You can either download it here, then share on social media, or print it off yourself. Or you can pick up a copy of The Press and Journal or Evening Express today where you'll be able to pull out a two-page centrefold poster right there and then. Hundreds of posters have already gone out into the streets of Torry, but there's there's still a long way to go. To show our support to all those fighting for their futures, and to get a response from Westminster we need 10,000 signatures on the homeowners' petition. We have just seven weeks to hit that target. By hanging these posters in your , , l and we'll not only be giving families Trapped by Raac a much-needed morale boost but we'll be taking the petition into every corner of the North-east. More importantly, we'll be sending a message to decision makers that this is an issue of injustice, cared about by more than just those directly impacted. Containing a QR code linking straight through to the petition, anyone who sees your poster will simply be able to scan it, to be taken directly to the campaign petition. At a community meeting on Sunday evening, Paula Fraser, a member of the Torry Community Raac Campaign, said: 'We are really grateful to The Press and Journal, and to everyone, getting behind us. 'We hope this will all help make a difference for the homeowners. 'I'll be hanging some on Victoria Road. We can all play our part.'
