Protest as hundreds to be rehomed due to RAAC crumbling concrete crisis in Aberdeen

Residents affected by the RAAC crisis in Aberdeen protested outside the city’s council headquarters on Wednesday, ahead of a full council meeting.

The housing minister admitted on Tuesday that it’s likely to be another six months before there is any government funding solution for the 500 affected properties in the Balnagask area of Torry.

Paul McLennan has been giving evidence in the Scottish Parliament and said the city council is going through an “appraisal process” to determine the best way forward.

But residents affected say they’re unhappy about how the situation is being handled, and several of them came to make their anger known by protesting in front of Marischal College on Wednesday.

“The thing is, we’re stuck in limbo,” said Nisha Gean Mowat, one of the affected homeowners.

“We don’t know what to do, where we’re going to go from here, or where we’re going to be in six months’ time.

“And we’ve got two teenage kids, and they don’t know where they’re going to be in six months’ time either. It is a stressful, anxious time.”

Michelle Reid and Hayley Urquhart, both council tenants in the Balnagask area, told STV News that they are unhappy with plans to move residents elsewhere.

”This is a huge decision that they are undertaking to move us all out when possibly they don’t need to, and it could just be fixed,” Michelle said.

“It’s not just a case of moving us; it’s our whole lives,” Hayley said.

Michelle added: “500; that’s a whole community; some places have less than that; they’re not taking into account how we feel.”

Aberdeen City Council sent letters to 500 addresses in the Torry area at the end of February, telling residents their homes contained reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which could collapse.

The material, widely used between the 1950s and 1990s, is said to pose a “serious risk”.

Aberdeen City Council previously confirmed that more than 22,000 council homes were being reviewed for the presence of RAAC.

Those affected received letters in November 2023 from the council.

Michael Kuszinr, councillor for Torry and Ferryhill district, said, ”I’ve brought forward a motion asking for the council to see what more they can do to help private homeowners in Torry who are facing this massive RAAC issue.

“People who have put their lifesavings into houses are now wondering what is going to happen.

“Also, I am asking the Scottish Government for more funding. The responses have been lacking, and we need that funding to help the people of Torry.”