Torry homeowners told 'spend thousands yourselves to fix roofs if you want to save Raac homes from demolition'
Torry residents 'bared their souls' as they issued emotional pleas for council chiefs not to demolish their homes – before being told they'd have to cough up thousands themselves to save them.
Last year, it emerged that around 500 properties in Balnagask would need to be evacuated as they were built using crumbly concrete at risk of collapse.
While hundreds of tenants have since been relocated to council homes elsewhere in Aberdeen, those in homes purchased from the authority have been stuck in limbo.
We have launched the Trapped by Raac campaign to help them in their plight, as they face losing out on tens of thousands of pounds by selling their homes at reduced rates.
It's an injustice likened to the Post Office Scandal, and thousands have backed a petition calling for action to help these scores of Torry residents.
And it was against this backdrop of growing public outcry that emotional homeowners pleaded to spare some homes from demolition in a highly-charged council meeting this week.
The affected homeowners behind the Torry Raac Community Group (TRCG) had put forward various ideas for the council to consider – other than just buying their properties at their current value, and then flattening them…
Some owners are simply refusing to even negotiate the sale of their homes on these terms.
The community campaigners say it's 'not a viable option'.
So what were the alternative proposals these long-suffering residents would be willing to consider?
A report that went before the showdown committee meeting explained that homeowners would be willing to consider a few different solutions.
One would be swapping their properties for another 'of equal value' in Aberdeen, with 'home loss and disturbance payments' from the council.
But they are most keen on a proposal to swap their own afflicted properties for another in the Balnagask area.
They have identified a cluster of Raac-affected houses which they say could be repaired, with new roofs installed.
This would mean some people can stay in their own homes, subject to the crumbly concrete being replaced.
Others leaving their properties destined for demolition nearby would be able to move into others – meaning they can stay in the neighbourhood they know and love.
Council property experts say the idea of doing up Balnagask properties blighted by Raac to allow this would be 'complex' and 'high risk'.
And it would only be a viable option for the local authority 'subject to funding'.
The report adds: 'It requires significant coordination and investment of resources
and there are unknown risks that would be held by the council.'
And as council chiefs roll out a 'masterplan' for the flattened site, they say having these remaining properties in the area might make that 'more difficult'.
The main point of contention is that officers 'propose that this is part-funded by owners'.
Taking his seat in the council chambers on Tuesday morning, campaigner Raymond Davidson was incredulous at the notion homeowners should cover some of these costs themselves.
He said: 'The council approved £13m in funding to acquire these homes and demolish them. In exchange, you'll have displaced 138 people.
'Many may become homeless.
'Our alternative is pragmatic, it would cost £2-3m less than demolition. This isn't pie in the sky, the only barrier is homeowners paying for roof replacements.
'If they could, we wouldn't be here today!
'If they could, the work would be done… If residents can't fund roof replacements then that opportunity disappears – sending us back to mass demolition.'
Others backed his 'more compassionate plan', with emotive pleas.
Paula Fraser is a recently relocated Torry tenant, who says the past 19 months has 'felt like a lifetime' as children were 'separated from friends' and disabled people 'ripped from their support network' by the moves.
She said, 'Our community has been torn apart.
'I know people have turned to alcohol, drinking two bottles a day.'
The campaigner later read anonymous testimonies from residents saying they had contemplated suicide, and from relatives of elderly homeowners worried about their 'deteriorating health'.
The Press and Journal's Lindsay Bruce has been leading The Press and Journal's Trapped by Raac campaign.
Lindsay gave an impassioned speech during the meeting – calling for a fair solution.
She said: 'This is a community that is more tight-knit than any other I have come across in my time as a reporter, and it is about to be ripped apart.
'This is about people, not policies and politics. I've sat with pensioners who can no longer enjoy their retirement, and others who can't retire at all.
'We need a solution that is fair and not one that is just eradicating buildings to the ground.'
Ultimately, councillors voted to proceed with the plan as it is – which would see all homes demolished.
The option of relocating residents within Balnagask would still depend on homeowners contributing cash – which they themselves have ruled out.
Labour's plea for any repairs to be fully funded by the council was outvoted by 5-4 by the SNP and Lib Dem administration.
The SNP's committee convener Miranda Radley said she was 'disappointed in the tone' of the meeting at times, after Labour's Simon Watson accused her of 'ignoring homeowners and shoving them out the door'.
'If you don't think I am turning over every stone to find a solution to this, I'm speechless,' she added.
The housing convener told members she had written to Keir Starmer over the issue.
And she urged people to sign the petition calling for the UK Government to take action.
She said: 'Only the UK Government can provide a Raac fund to alleviate this financial devastation.
'The Raac crisis is no-one's fault and officers are working as hard as they can to mitigate safety risks to homeowners.
'Proposals that rely solely on council funding to remediate privately owned homes are not considered legally viable at this point.'
However, reports that went before councillors confirmed that officials 'recognise the difficulty of some owners in meeting costs on an upfront basis'.
And the dossier suggests owners could be 'offered a loan by the council to pay for their
contribution towards the works'.
Former SNP group leader Alex Nicoll urged his former party colleagues to 'get off the 'blame Westminster' merry-go-round'.
After the latest round of talks ground to a halt, campaigners gathered in the Costa coffee shop across from the Town House to continue to press their case with council co-leader Christian Allard.
It came after the Torry SNP councillor told us he hadn't visited anyone affected by the life-changing problem on his doorstep.
Emerging from the discussions onto Broad Street 20 minutes later, Raymond Davidson was dejected but determined to keep up the fight.
He said: 'They're still sticking with their proposals, which will no doubt be rejected by the owners. It's like Groundhog Day.
'The council have committed more money for the demolition than repairing the cluster would cost, which will leave everyone worse off.
'Residents won't have a house, and the land will have little to no value.'
Joining him outside the cafe, homeowner Lynn Winstanley tells me she fears any outcome on Raac from Aberdeen City Council will now 'see the homeowners at a loss'.
She sighed: 'If people could repair the roofs, we wouldn't be in this situation.
'We need to regroup and decide how we go forward. We will keep fighting, and we're not going anywhere.'
And Paula added: 'We're really disappointed. Up until now, we have played nice.
'This isn't about the land, this is about human beings. Family members and communities are being ripped apart.
'I don't know if Torry will ever recover from this.'
To read more about the Raac crisis and our campaign click here.
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