Furious protesters interrupt Edinburgh council meeting over plans to demolish flats

An Edinburgh Council meeting was interrupted suddenly as furious protesters stormed the building to oppose plans to demolish a block of flats.

Protests over the planned demolition of Westfield Court forced the council’s housing committee meeting to be halted on Tuesday morning as around 20 people entered the floor of the meeting room.

Participants loudly demanded the council instead undertake work to renovate the building.

The plans to demolish the building were announced last month, marking a sharp reversal from earlier plans to refurbish it.

Council officials said deteriorating conditions inside had made it not ‘practically or financially viable’ for continued investment to be made.

A report set to go before councillors at the Tuesday meeting states the condition of waste outflow pipes in the building have reached a critical state.

It adds sewage was regularly flooding flats in several blocks, adding to a long list of other issues facing the 73-year-old building.

At the time, housing convener and Labour councillor Tim Pogson said the council had the interests of the building’s tenants at heart.

He continued: “It’s just not a situation that we want at all, I can’t think of anything worse than having a situation where dirty water, sewage is coming into properties.

“It’s completely unacceptable on all grounds.”

Several residents of Westfield Court spoke in deputations at the meeting, expressing discontent with the council’s handling of the building.

Around 10.20am, the public gallery in the room the committee meets in was over capacity, with some attendees standing on stairs and on the floor near the entrance.

Many of the issues facing the building involve risers which carry utilities up the back of the building and into flats.

The presence of asbestos inside them has made administering repairs difficult.