Private homeowners still living in properties containing Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) in Aberdeen have called on the council to extend a deadline for confirming their plans for their buildings. An email sent to 12 households on 21 July asked residents to tell the council within 14 days what action they intended to take.
The email asked residents to say whether they intended to instruct an engineer to inspect their roof, had already had it assessed, or planned to leave the property. It warned that failure to act could result in "formal enforcement action". Aberdeen City Council (ACC) has previously said it remains willing to work with private owners to find a solution.
Hundreds of properties in the Torry area are set to be demolished because of the potentially dangerous concrete in their roofs. A number of privately-owned homes have already been purchased by the council through voluntary acquisition.
At an emergency meeting of Torry Community Council on Wednesday, residents heard that some people were still negotiating the sale of their property with the local authority. Others are still trying to buy a new home. ACC is now being urged to take steps to extend the deadline for people to decide how they wish to proceed with their property.
Jumoke Adebajo owns a three-bedroom house in Torry.
She said she has been in discussions with the council about her home for the last two years but has not been able to provide them with recent details of her situation as she has been in hospital due to ill health. She called for the deadline to be extended, and said the council needed to communicate more swiftly and effectively.
"It's not fair the way the way we are being treated," she said. "I am hoping they are able to at least see us as human.
"We were hoping we would stay in our properties for the rest of our lives, and that's not the case.
"It's a huge, huge change for us, and it's causing so much trouble and anxiety."
Show more empathy?
Campaigner John Meiklejohn urged the council to listen to residents. He said the email-only approach was unacceptable and questioned whether the authority should instead show more empathy and work with homeowners to reach an agreed conclusion.
"It was issued by email and that is utterly reprehensible.
"Do they not think it is time to actually take the approach they said they would, which was to show more empathy and work with homeowners to come to an agreed conclusion?
BBC Scotland News contacted the council for a response after the meeting and the calls to extend its deadline. The council had previously said ACC remains willing to work with private owners in relation to Raac roofs and will consider any reasonable proposals that may assist in progressing a solution.
However, it said that to date it had not received any proposals or formal contact from owners on roof replacement as an alternative approach. It encouraged anyone considering the roof replacement option to contact the council's building standards team for advice on the statutory requirements.
Key Facts
- An email was sent to 12 households on 21 July, giving them 14 days to respond.
- Residents were asked whether they would arrange an engineer, had already had a roof assessment, or planned to leave.
- Failure to act could lead to "formal enforcement action".
- Hundreds of properties in Torry are set to be demolished because of Raac.
- ACC says it remains willing to work with private owners and consider reasonable proposals.
