Latest news with #byRaac
The Courier
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Courier
United against Raac: The Courier takes landmark step in fight for residents in Dundee and Angus
The Courier has taken a landmark step in our fight for those trapped by Raac in Dundee, Monifieth and across Scotland. In a first for both titles, we join with our sister paper The Press and Journal to share a front page highlighting the impact on those devastated by the defective block crisis. That is a testament to how serious an issue it has become in our communities. Together, alongside the thousands of those affected, we are united against Raac. We are also asking for your help – we are asking our readers to sign this petition and give homeowners and tenants a voice in the corridors of power. That is where their plight must be heard. For this special edition, editors of both publications explain why they are taking this important step in highlighting the issue blighting our communities. David Clegg, editor of The Courier, said: 'In Dundee alone, nearly 900 homes are caught in the Raac crisis. Dozens more are affected in nearby Monifieth – and across Scotland, the total runs into the thousands, including in cities like Aberdeen. 'This isn't just about buildings. It's about people. 'It's families raising children in homes that may no longer be safe. It's elderly couples unable to downsize for health reasons. 'It's young first-time buyers trapped in negative equity. It's grieving daughters who, after the loss of a loved one, now face the burden of inheriting a crumbling flat that could financially devastate them. 'Both tenants and homeowners are affected – but it is the homeowners who face the sharpest edge of this crisis.' He added: 'They are living in properties no longer worth the value of their mortgage. 'Many cannot sell, cannot move, and cannot see a way forward. 'They are Trapped by Raac. 'That's why The Courier and our sister title The Press and Journal have taken the landmark decision to share our front pages. 'This is more than a campaign – it's a call for urgent action. 'Each level of government is passing the buck. 'Councils will support their own tenants but are leaving private homeowners to face this alone. 'Holyrood looks to Westminster. Westminster looks the other way. 'Homeowners feel abandoned – and with good reason. No one is offering them a way out. No one even appears to be trying. 'Our petition aims to change that. It gives these people a voice and demands those in power finally listen. 'They need your support. We're proud to stand with them. We hope you will too.' Craig Walker, editor of the Press and Journal, spoke of the devastating impact the crisis is having in Aberdeen. He said: 'More than 500 houses, thousands of people displaced, hundreds more in limbo and 18 months of misery for all. 'This is the scale and the cost of Aberdeen City Council discovering risky Raac in the roofs of Balnagask homes. 'Yet this week in Holyrood, weeks into our Trapped by Raac campaign, finance minister Ivan McKee claimed MSPs were 'scaremongering' with comments about residents losing their homes or being stuck in worthless properties. 'He even said Raac does not have to be a 'problem' if it is 'properly maintained'. 'What chance do the good people of Balnagask have – and almost a thousand more in Dundee and Angus – if their government ministers can't comprehend the scale of this disaster? 'This is why we launched our campaign. And it's why we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our sister title, The Courier, today. 'Time has run out for buck-passing, and for ignorance. It's time to face reality, stand united, and help those suffering through no fault of our own. ''A complete injustice' is how Tory MSP Meghan Gallagher described the situation in Aberdeen,' to which Mr McKee told her to 'tone down her language and focus on the facts.' 'Well, the facts are these: Hundreds of homes are going to be demolished unless funding can be found to provide alternative solutions. 'Hundreds more are living with the threat of Raac literally over their heads. And thousands more signatures are needed to get governments of all levels to come together to find a way forward. 'We have championed the Balnagask people on the pages of The Press and Journal. We've told the stories of families, pensioners, war veterans, babies, first-time buyers and long-standing members of the community. 'With no way forward, Trapped by Raac, they need our help. 'Please sign the homeowners' petition today.'
The Courier
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Arbroath Place for Everyone landscaping spend to be decided in secret
Spending plans for landscaping along Arbroath's new £14 million active travel route will be decided in secret this week. The mile-long accessible Place For Everyone town centre scheme is approaching the final stages of construction. Sustrans and Angus Council are due to complete the 77-week project this September. On Thursday, Angus Council policy and resources committee will consider a shopping list for shrubs and trees. But the committee will hear the item in private. The authority confirmed all costs for the Arbroath planting scheme are contained within the project's overall budget. A Place for Everyone will change the face of Burnside Drive by reducing the dual carriageway to a single lane in each direction. New cycle paths are already complete on sections of the scheme. Designs for the scheme show trees along its length and attractive planted areas at pedestrian spaces such as Brothock Bridge and Guthrie Port. A Place for Everyone is among nine committee reports councillors will consider in private. Only one matter – UK Shared Prosperity Fund spending proposals – will be heard in public. The other 'green paper' reports include possible changes to the running of Montrose and Arbroath golf courses. Local bus service contract extensions are also on the agenda. A council spokesperson said: 'Reports seeking approval of a procurement route and going to tender are usually exempt as they will contain commercially sensitive information. 'Such information is usually exempt as it may be liable to give a commercial advantage…in respect of property, goods or services – whether that advantage is against the authority or other persons.' The decision over whether an item should be heard in private rests with the relevant council committee. The authority recently reversed plans to consider a report into Raac in Monifieth houses in private. It released options to deal with 25 affected council houses in Milton Street after a backlash from people living there. Consultation will begin this week over the plan to fit replacement timber flat roofs on the affected council homes. Meanwhile, a £500,000 Raac remedial pilot programme involving five empty Dundee council houses was approved in public by city councillors this week. The Courier's Trapped by Raac campaign aims to help those affected by the crisis and have the issue debated by government.
The Courier
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
£500k Dundee Raac pilot scheme approved
A pilot project which Dundee City Council hope will make homes safe from Raac has been approved. Councillors on the local authority's housing committee met on Monday to discuss a tender for the £500,000 scheme. The project will see remedial works carried out on Raac roofs in five void council properties in the city. This will involve installing a new roof structure directly below the Raac, ensuring the concrete is fully supported and made structurally redundant. In addition to the pilot project, the Raac within communal areas in five properties in Menzieshill will have their redundant roof-mounted water tanks decommissioned. These have been chosen as they are currently in a 'poor condition' according to a paper which went before the committee. Dundee-based Morrison Construction have been selected as the preferred bidder due to their 'experience in delivering RAAC projects for private and public sector clients'. The project will begin next month and run until August. However, councillor Kevin Keenan – who leads the Labour group on the local authority – called for dialogue to be opened with the Scottish housing and finance ministers over potential funding which could be made available to homeowners effected by Raac. During Monday's meeting, he proposed an amendment asking the committee to allow the council's chief executive to write to the ministers to ask for financial assistance. And whilst committee convener councillor Kevin Cordell said he could not accept the amendment in its entirety; he agreed to invite the ministers to Dundee to discuss the Raac crisis. Housing minister Paul McLennan has previously pledged to Dundee Raac campaigners he would visit the city. His promise followed a similar visit to Aberdeen earlier this month where he met homeowners and tenants in the Torry area of the city whose homes face demolition. No date has been set for the Dundee visit. The Courier has launched our Trapped by Raac campaign to help those affected by the burgeoning crisis and have the issue debated by government. We're asking readers to sign this petition to give campaigners a voice at parliament.
The Courier
10-05-2025
- General
- The Courier
Monifieth Raac repair consultation to begin within days
Monifieth residents living with Raac are to be contacted within days in the first step towards ridding their homes of the dangerous material. It comes after councillors unanimously agreed a plan to remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) from 25 council houses in Milton Street. New flat roofs will be installed. The move was welcomed as a positive step for residents who discovered in 2023 their homes were affected. The Milton Street houses, built in the 1960s, were the only ones found to contain Raac after a survey of the council's 7,700 rented homes. However, housing chiefs have been unable to give council tenants a timeline for when they can expect their Raac nightmare to end. And questions remain around how the council repair scheme will work alongside nearly 50 privately-owned homes in the street. Council infrastructure director Graeme Dailly promised councillors the consultation will be carried out as quickly as possible. 'We want to do a comprehensive engagement, rather than meet a specific deadline,' he said. 'But what I can do is give an assurance it is very much people-focused; we realise the expectations here.' He added: 'We are looking to put a further letter out to the affected homes next week.' It will go to both council tenants and private owners. 'As we move forward, timescales might become clearer,' added Mr Dailly. 'We aim to keep local members, our housing committee and affected homeowners updated.' Monifieth and Sidlaw councillor Lloyd Melville said: 'Complete removal of the Raac is not only necessary for the future stability of the buildings, but for the peace of mind of all of the residents in the area. '(They have) faced such a traumatic and anxious period since the discovery of Raac some time ago. 'We've heard there is a real willingness to work with all of the residents. 'That will be done on an individual basis and that is really welcome because there is no one-size-fits-all approach.' He added: 'No two houses have the exact same circumstances. 'I think every one of us wants to see an approach that preserves the community of Milton Street. 'Let me pay tribute to those residents and their remarkable fortitude. People who have had to live with this terrible worry for a very long time.' The potential cost of the council house roof replacements was considered in private for reasons of commercial confidentiality. However, the options report recommending the flat roof solution was brought into the public domain after a residents' backlash. The Courier's Trapped by Raac campaign aims to help those affected by the crisis and have the issue debated by government. We're asking readers to sign this petition to give them a voice and get the issue to parliament.
Press and Journal
08-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Two 'Torry quines' both Trapped by Raac: 'We've lost our love of life. Is it any wonder?'
Two Aberdeen women. Both mothers of sons. Both single, both trapped by Raac. Today, as part of our Trapped by Raac campaign, we share their stories of going from independent 'Torry quines' to losing their love of life amidst financial hardship and stress. 'They think my home would be better off flattened' Sitting in a home that was once her pride and joy, Pentland Road homeowner Carol Lawrie says she's lost the spring in her step. 'I can't be bothered. With anything. I'm sitting here in a mess because I can't muster up enough energy to do anything about it. Why should I? They think my home would be better flattened?' Carol Lawrie, speaking from her Balnagask home, Torry. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson. The former nursery cook, 60, has been offered £68,000 for her three-bedroom home. She believes it was worth £110-115,000 before Raac. 'The same house across the street has been valued at £84,000. Now, are his bricks worth more than mine when they're both sitting in a pile?' 'I feel rubbish, being looked down on doesn't help' Carol described the valuation process as 'awful'. As part of Aberdeen City Council's voluntary purchase scheme, in order to buy back homes deemed unsafe due to unstable concrete, it enlisted the help of the Valuation Office to inspect homes. 'The woman who came to see me had no sympathy whatsoever. You'd think knowing I'm losing my home it would warrant some kind of compassion. 'If I'm honest, being looked down on just added to how rubbish I'm feeling.' Carol says she'll miss the view from her kitchen to the harbour where you can see cruise ships docking. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson. 'I can't be bothered. I've lost interest in everything. I've lost the spring in my step.' This impending sense of dread each day led to Carol making the difficult decision to find another home. 'This is how bad it is: I'm glad I lost my job' 'I was recently made redundant…,' she laughs, 'This is how bad it is, I feel lucky to have lost my job. 'That money, my pension money and loans from family have allowed to me to get somewhere else in Torry. Carol Lawrie from Pentland Road, with her beloved pet dog Skye. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson. 'I moved here as a baby and I don't want to be anywhere else. I panicked in case we all end up needing houses at the same time on the same low budget. 'But just because I have found another place – that needs a ton of work doing by the way – doesn't mean I'll let this house go for peanuts.' 'My son says it will all work out. I'm not so sure' Carol, like many of the homeowners, was in the process of 'sprucing up' her home when she got confirmation Raac was in her roof. 'Thank God I took longer than I should have with that. I was about to spend a small fortune putting a toilet in downstairs. Now I'm at the stage where I haven't even put the curtain pole back up. What's the point? 'My son always tells me it will work out, but we are a year on and nothing has happened. I don't have his confidence.' Signed off because of stress, Susan shares her story Susan has been in her Girdleness Road, three-bed hen house for 28 years. Her son is refusing to leave. ''I'm nae going anywhere,' that's what he keeps telling me. It's all he's known, so I understand,' she says. Susan* shares her story of how Raac has detrimentally changed her life. (*Name changed to protect identity).Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson. Susan has asked to remain anonymous because she is currently signed off work sick due to stress. We've changed her name to protect her identity. Regrets over 'wise' investment Torry born and bred, she bought her home from Aberdeen City Council and paid her mortgage 'years ago.' Hoping to build a nest egg for her family she remortgaged to buy a flat – a decision she now has cause to regret. A Torry resident now Trapped by Raac looks at the street she's called home for decades. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson. 'I took out an £80,000 remortgage on my house. I assumed that would be a safe investment. My house will nae drop below that. Or that's what I thought,' she said. 'I'm scared I'll lose everything' A support worker, 60-year-old Susan now fears she will lose both. 'I just kind of assumed we would get help. Especially as we bought from the council. 'Now I'm just sitting here wondering what I'm going to do. The ongoing Raac situation means homes now lie empty around the privately owned properties. Picture by Jason Hedges /DC Thomson. 'You're encouraged to make the most of your assets, and as a single woman I thought it was a good plan. Right now if take their offer, I'll lose it all.' 'My home's been valued nearly £50k less than it was worth' Susan's pre-Raac valuation was £120,000. Her home has since been valued at £73,000 by the Valuation Office as part of ACC's voluntary purchase scheme. 'That's nearly £50,000 less than it should be worth. 'The fight is going out of me. It's exhausting. I feel like I'm a hole I'll never get out of. Anonymous resident *Susan speaks to The P&J reporter Lindsay Bruce, about Raac. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson. 'We need the whole of Aberdeen to help us. We're tired.' You can join our Trapped by Raac campaign by clicking to sign the petition below. A Valuation Office Agency spokesperson said they cannot comment on individual cases but 'appreciate this is a very difficult and worrying situation for homeowners.'Adding, 'We have been instructed by Aberdeen City Council to advise on the market value of homes affected by RAAC in Balnagask and we work within a strict legal framework that governs what evidence we can consider as part of our valuations. We always aim to carry out our work with professionalism and respect, and in line with standards set out by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.'
