Torry residents reeling from bombshell news that their homes contain Raac are being urged to take part in a protest outside council headquarters.
Wilson Chowdhry and his daughter, Hannah, are calling on support for a rally to be held outside Aberdeen City Council’s HQ at Marischal College later this month.
The proposed date is March 28, starting at 9am.
Today, the pair have been appealing for people to help out leaflets and speak at the event.
Yesterday, Aberdeen City Council broke the news that hundreds of residents in Torry must permanently move out on Thursday.
It followed the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in roof panels, known as RAAC.
The local authority has agreed to a £3 million programme to relocate tenants from 299 council homes “as soon as possible” due to the collapse-risk concrete.
But that support does not extend to residents who own their council houses, even if it is RAAC-ridden.
Private home owners weren’t told there might be RAAC in roofs
Around 140 private homes are impacted, according to city council.
Hannah is one of them.
She bought a home in Torry in June 2023, but she wasn’t told there might be RAAC in the roof.
Now she wants council to offer the same support to private owners it has offered to council house tenants.
She will voice her concerns at Aberdeen City Council’s communities, housing and public protection committee meeting on March 28, the same day as the planned protest.
Hannah’s father, Wilson, told The P&J: “The hope remains that we can turn around this decision by Aberdeen City Council to ignore their culpability in building such substandard roofing in the Torry development.
“Our concern is that when these properties were sold, there was no indication or absolutely no information cascaded to original purchasers of these ex-council homes.”
Miss Chowdhry has also started a crowdfunder with the British Asian Christian Association.
Her father said the money will go towards helping homeowners for minimum inspections of their houses.
He said: “They should have been notified that a 30-year lifespan had been expired by the time these properties had been sold.
“None of this has been cascaded across and now that’s left people who are really struggling with a difficult economy being in a situation where they cannot afford to protect the roof of their home and many might even become homeless.
“That’s why, if anything, the government needs to intervene, because this is a housing crisis now and we could be adding more people to the homeless situation.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rules out support for Torry residents
Speaking on Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out any extra support for Torry residents coming from Westminister.
He said the issue should be handled locally, adding that the Scottish Government had received “record” funding.
In a briefing to journalists, the prime minister said: “The Scottish Government has a considerable amount of resources.
“How they choose to invest and deploy them is obviously a question for them.”
In actuality, the Scottish Government’s block grant has fallen by 1.2% in real terms since 2022-23.
Rishi Sunak says no extra cash to help Aberdonians losing their Raac-riddled homes
Conversation