Residents have accused a Scottish council of “betrayal” after it voted to demolish and rebuild around 500 homes made with crumble-risk concrete.
Yesterday (21 August), Aberdeen City Council approved a proposed multi-year redevelopment of 366 council and 138 private homes in Torry, a burgh of Aberdeen, which it expects will cost about £150m in total.
In February, structural engineers found roof panels made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – a material that is prone to collapse at the end of its usable lifespan – in a representative sample of the properties.
Following the discovery, a council report rejected the option of bolstering the roofs with timber supports, concluding that this would only be a temporary solution.
It considered a £60m programme to replace the roofs and refurbish the properties to improve energy efficiency, but decided demolishing the 60-year-old buildings would be more feasible, especially in anticipation of new energy-efficiency standards.
Aberdeen council estimates demolition will cost between £20m and £25m, and take up to four years. It expects the rebuilding programme will cost £130m and take five to 15 years.
Councillor Miranda Radley said it was “one of the hardest decisions the council has taken”.
She said: “We recognise the impact this will have on residents, many having lived in their home[s] for many years. The absolute priority has to be their safety.”
Radley added that the council would offer those affected one-on-one support and meet their housing needs “as far as possible from existing stock”.
However, residents objected to the decision – in part because the council aims to buy properties back from residents at market value. Residents claim the valuation on offer reflects the properties’ worth since RAAC was discovered, not what they paid for them.
Hannah Chowdry, who learnt that her Torry home contained RAAC a few weeks after moving in, told the council yesterday that the decision to demolish would “tear apart the social fabric of our community”.
She said: “The council’s proposed response to this crisis – the decision to offer only the current market value for our affected properties – is nothing short of a betrayal. I am now burdened with a mortgage on a home that is no longer safe to live in, alongside mounting student loans.
“The council’s approach forces us to bear the full brunt of this disaster alone, without any meaningful support.”
Aberdeen council said it had given council tenants right of first refusal on a replacement home, and would offer private owners rehoming support.
Chowdry’s father, Wilson Chowdry, told Construction News that councillors had “shirked their responsibility, leaving homeowners with crumbling ceilings – built by the council – to face years of financial struggle”.
He added: “Younger homeowners, like my daughter Hannah, will be left with insurmountable debt, paying mortgages for properties that no longer exist.”
His campaign, the Torry Community RAAC Campaign, protested outside council headquarters before yesterday’s meeting.
The issue has also sparked a national campaign, the UK RAAC Campaign Group, which has called on the Scottish Government to create a national fund to help homeowners affected by RAAC. The group has written to prime minister Keir Starmer and is planning to protest outside the Scottish parliament next week.
