It was a night of high emotions as Balnagask Raac residents came face-to-face with Aberdeen politicians at The Press and Journal’s Trapped by Raac Question Time-style event.
Staged in The P&J newsroom and chaired by editor Craig Walker, a panel of guests responded to questions submitted by the public as well as “on the floor” requests from the audience of 60.
The heated debate saw exasperated homeowners, who face being made to move out of their properties due to unstable concrete, in tears and visibly angry.
Read on for the highlights of the highly charged two-and-a-half-hour debate, including:
- Torry GP confronts council leader on the abject suffering of his patients in “under attack” community
- Residents’ mental anguish due to slow-moving and “compassionless” council
- Former council leader states Raac was known about before 2023, and claims that ACC “hasn’t even tried” to use legislation to secure funds
- New claims that council engineers say families “cannot spend another winter” in Balnagask homes, while campaigners believe the crisis could be resolved for just 4p a week
- Audible gasps as MSP Audrey Nicoll breaks rank with SNP party colleague Christian Allard after debate “dismay”…
‘The best thing would be Raac not happening,’ said council boss Allard
Just moments into The Press and Journal’s Trapped by Raac campaign event, homeowner Lynn Winstaley broke down detailing how “the people of Aberdeen have been failed ” and that the concrete crisis is driving people to consider suicide.
A member of the panel for the evening, she was alongside fellow Torry Community Raac campaigner Raymond Davidson.
They were joined by Labour councillor Simon Watson, Torry GP Dr Adrian Crofton and MSPs Audrey Nicoll (SNP) and Liam Kerr (Conservative).
The blunt force of most audience questioning, however, was directed to Torry councillor and SNP co-leader of Aberdeen City Council, Christian Allard who said he wished “homeowners were in a better place” – but “such a thing is not possible”. Adding “the better place would be for Raac not to have happened.”
‘People are turning to drink to cope’ says Balnagask GP
Dr Adrian Crofton of Torry Medical Practice shared his perspective on patient impact.
Concerned, he said his practice began collecting data on the number of people presenting with health problems directly from Raac impact.
“Over 60 individuals had health problems arising from this. We were anticipating an impact but were taken aback by how much of an impact there was,” he began.
“Common problems would be depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress-related issues like chest pains.”
He said he’d seen evidence of people “tragically” turning to drink to cope.
‘There’s a feeling Torry is under constant attack’
Paula Fraser – who was rehomed as a result of Raac, spoke of an older lady who was also displaced.
“She didn’t drink when she lived in Torry. She had to move and is now drinking two bottles of spirits a day, and has now got liver issues,” she announced.
“Another lady, each time I meet her, she’s in tears. She hates where she is now and she hates her life…
“She suffers from mental health as it is, and for her to be going through this… Something is going to happen, there’s going to be that straw that breaks the back.
“There are people suffering with cancer who have given up the fight.”
Dr Crofton later spoke of depopulation in Torry stating that in the last 10 years the city has grown by 6% as a whole, but even before Raac Torry was shrinking 12-16%.
And he referenced past rows over the siting of a new incinerator, along with plans to pave over St Fittick’s Park as he spoke of longstanding unrest among locals.
“There’s a feeling that it is under constant attack, almost,” he said.
Dr Crofton’s final debate comments were a plea to ACC to make a compassionate and just settlement, adding: “I would hope that that money can be found locally.”
Upset Raac homeowners confront city leader head-on
Throughout the evening, those at the heart of the crisis went toe-to-toe with their council co-leader.
Fiona and Ricky Burgess said they’re “trapped”, unable to say yes to a low home offer or to pay £40,000 for a new roof.
Teacher Amie Bruce, flanked by her family, expressed frustration that despite Mr Allard pressing an urgent need for families to move out, she’s been left in limbo since December when she reluctantly accepted an offer from ACC equating to a loss of more than £40,000, to “get on with her life” – but has heard nothing since.
“I’ve tried, but I can’t sell my house to you,” she said.
Victim of the similar cladding scandal and DC Thomson chief growth officer, Owen Wyatt, took to his feet on hearing this.
“The rest of this is complicated, but helping this poor woman who has worked to buy a house is simple.
“What are you going to do about it Christian?” he shouted from the back of the room.
Repeating a line he used for multiple questions, Mr Allard replied: “This is the reason we are taking it case by case…”
Torry Community Raac Campaign chairman Ian Lippe angrily interjected.
“They got these offers the week of Christmas. Merry f***ing Christmas from Aberdeen City Council.”
Unable to continue speaking over audience members shouting responses, Carolyn Bruce, Amie’s mum, called out: “The council are not responding. The Valuation Office are not responding. What are we supposed to do?”
“We’ve had no compassion towards anyone, in all this time, since it started,” Paula Fraser added.
Ex-Aberdeen City Council leader says council did know about Raac before 2023
Following evidence that Raac was known about for 50 years in Dundee, Mr Allard was asked if such a thing was possible in Aberdeen.
He said he didn’t know, deferring to the need for a public inquiry.
Former ACC leader, councillor Alex Nicoll, was also in attendance.
“To say Raac wasn’t known about is a bit of a porky,” he said.
“We now know [the local authority] we got reports from building standards that told us back in the 90s there was a problem with Siporex and similar products.
“We got told in the early 2000s that there was a problem. In the Aberdeen City Council archives, when we did the mansard roofs, the plans actually say Siporex.
“We know what it is. So to say we don’t know… It’s simply not true.”
‘You can see now why I left the SNP group’
Mr Nicoll then explained that under the Local Government Scotland Act 2003, there are powers given to councils to go to the housing minister to ask for funds to be reclassified and distributed.
“But,” he added, “the problem is, we’ve never gone as a council and asked to do this.
“Housing’s been devolved for 25 years. We can go to the minister and ask for money and they have powers if need be, to actually bring forward a statutory instrument and change the law.
“It’s not hard,” he said, somewhat exasperated. “You can actually now see, having witnessed this tonight, why I left the SNP group and became an independent.”
Labour councillor Simon Watson echoed these remarks.
“I’ve written down four words, and those four words are take responsibility and swallow pride, because I really don’t understand why this isn’t being solved. Because I think it can be solved.
“We’ve got a £50 million play park at the beach. We need less than £5 million to sort this. The council can reorganise its priorities. It can ask. And what frustrates me so much is that we haven’t even asked.”
‘No one should be in these houses another winter’
Perhaps the most contentious element of the evening was a repeated, and previously unheard, claim from Mr Allard regarding the timeframe for homeowners to remain in their properties.
According to the co-leader, his engineers have told him that “no one should be in these houses “another winter.”
Despite cries of “scaremongering” and “gaslighting” from the audience, he repeated this sentence three times during the evening.
It was a statement that worried some homeowners.
John Meiklejohn got in touch after the live event to say he fully believes it was a veiled threat and that he believes the council will now try and evict homeowners by Christmas.
‘This is nothing compared to £50m to polish the beach’
“That would be entirely unnecessary – and all of it could be avoided,” said Raymond Davidson.
Alternative options presented to the council, he said, would cost less than what ACC has already allotted for Raac, but would give the homeowners a fair deal.
Even an additional £5 million “would cost around 4p a week onto everyone’s council tax,” he explained.
“That’s nothing,” added John Meiklejohn, “When we’ve spent £50 million to polish the beach.”
The issue of finance was muddied by Mr Allard citing both a lack of funds and the age of the Balnagask homes as reasons why they cannot be repaired, avoiding demolition.
“Which is it?” asked Craig Walker.
“Whatever decision we make will cost millions for the council,” Mr Allard said. “There are no cheap options for the council.”
‘I’m dismayed by Allard’, says fellow SNP member and MSP Audrey Nicoll
Many more points were covered during the 150-minute meeting on Friday June 13, including how to access the £20 million housing pot, first brought to homeowners’ attention by Liam Kerr. As the evening drew to a close, panellists were asked for their final comments, and their commitments to those Trapped by Raac.
Simon Watson said the council must now formally ask the Scottish Government for fiscal flexibility, while Christian Allard made a plea for homeowners to urgently engage with the local authority.
Earlier in the event Liam Kerr said the Scottish Government needs to “pony up” to help families in Balnagask, concluding with a promise to share the testimonies heard in the P&J meeting this week in Holyrood.
When asked for her thoughts, MSP Audrey Nicoll uncharacteristically broke rank with her SNP party to audible gasps from the room.
“This sits in many ways above politics. And at the end of the day, all we want is a fair and just solution for homeowners.
“And I have to say… and I really don’t want to say this, but I am dismayed at what my colleague Christian Allard has said tonight.
“So I continue to represent constituents as much as I can, whether thought is in terms of Holyrood or whether it is in terms of keeping the pressure on the council.”
Time is running out. The deadline is Tuesday to sign the homeowners’ petition calling for fair prices for Aberdeen families’ homes. Click this image below to sign.
And check back in with the P&J soon for video of the event.
Where to seek help
- The Samaritans can be contacted on day or night, 365 days a year on 116 123
- Breathing Space: 0800 83 85 87
- The Prevent Suicide app is available for download at the App Store and Google Play. In the north-east it is also available on Amazon for Kindles.
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