A SPECIAL investigation by the Edinburgh Evening News has revealed the scale of the capital’s crumbling tenements, asffigures obtained from the city council show reports of falling masonry to have risen more than five-fold in ten years.
The Edinburgh Evening News writes:
One expert warned someone could be killed by falling debris as loose stonework teeters 50ft above some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. ‘There was a loose slate on a roof above Princes Street,’ said stonemason Stewart Inkster, 35. ‘If that had slipped off and hit someone, they wouldn’t have stood a chance. How many people walk down there a day…’
Figures released under freedom of information laws show there were 179 reports of falling masonry to the city council last year – equivalent to one almost every other day. The number has dramatically risen in the last decade, from just 33 in 2008, with nearly 1,000 cases in total since. Of those, a staggering one in three (33 per cent) posed a risk to public health and safety needing work to make the building safe…
His video diary of despair over recent weeks includes:
- Wobbly stone baluster towering 50ft above the West End
- Loose chimney pot on Princes Street in view of the Castle
- Stone window surround weighing up to ten kilos breaking off in George Street
- Decorative stone ornament detached above the Royal Mile
‘There are a lot of dangerous buildings in Edinburgh,’ added Mr Inkster, of Edinburgh Stonemason. It’s no use looking at them from the street with binoculars, you need to physically inspect them to make sure they’re safe. Sometimes when I take a look at a roof, I can’t believe how easy stuff moves…
… a far-reaching probe lasting more than a year… reported back with sobering findings in June of this year.
The group found that tenements account for 584,000 of properties in Scotland – equating to nearly a quarter (24 percent) of the country’s total housing stock. Nearly a third (29 percent) of tenements were built over 100 years ago and more than two-thirds of these (68 percent) are classed as in ‘critical disrepair’. The working group came up with three radical recommendations – building inspections every five years, compulsory owners’ associations to take responsibility and reserve funds to pay for work.
‘Convenor Graham Simpson (Con) said: ‘Edinburgh city has the highest number of listed buildings in Scotland so in other words it’s probably got the oldest property stock….’
Mr Simpson called for a ‘commitment’ to take the working group’s recommendations forward but accepted nothing will now happen ahead of elections in 2021…’
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said he welcomed the working group’s report but had asked for further feedback. He added: ‘The maintenance of common property is an important issue. Homeowners and landlords in tenements need to fully accept their shared responsibilities for the up keep of their property, ensuring everyone living in tenements can enjoy good quality, safe and sustainable homes. The Scottish Government held a debate on this issue in June and I welcomed the report of the Working Group on Maintenance of Tenement Property then. We have asked for further feedback from the group and will respond when received.’
