Plea for help from 'negligent council'
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COUNCIL properties in a Ross-shire town have sat empty for up to eight years at a time when thousands of people are on social housing waiting lists.
On one street in Dingwall, 41 per cent of council dwellings are empty, sparking concern from surrounding homeowners about the "heart being ripped out of the community" and the impact on the value of their properties.
It emerged this week that Highland Council is to survey 107 of its properties in the town that were built in the 1920s and 1930s with a view to informing its "future approach to investment".
Some have been plagued by damp and drainage problems while some that were left empty are said to be "rotting".
Sharon Scobbie, who lives on Meiklefield Road said that while a private developer planned to build 17 new flats in the town, Highland Council was neglecting its stock – with 13 homes empty in her street alone.
She said: "It feels like the heart is being ripped out of the community. It feels like being trapped in a sinking ship. It’s so sad walking through empty streets. I don’t want to move but I also don’t want to be the only person living on the street.
"With the housing crisis the way it is just now, it seems madness to talk, as some have, about compulsory purchase orders for new housing when they don’t look after what they have. It’s negligent not to maintain these houses."
Louis McIntosh, chair of the Highland branch of the Scottish Socialist Party, said he was horrified after visiting Dingwall to find one block had been vacant for eight years.
He said that with 7890 applicants on Highland Council’s housing waiting list, it was alarming to see a substantial quantity of its housing stock "being left to rot". His request for figures found 41 per cent of council houses on Meiklefield Road were considered void.
He said most people can’t afford to buy homes and "that the real crisis is the serious void in the number of social homes available in an area where people find themselves in precarious employment, being paid ever-decreasing wages while the cost of living continues an alarming spike upwards."
Dingwall and Seaforth ward councillor Graham Mackenzie said: "I think there is a determination to get something done on this one. Representations I have had are that occupied properties are being downvalued by these properties being unoccupied. I do have sympathy with what people are saying. We need more social housing in Dingwall – we need more of all sorts of housing."
Highland Council said surveys on 107 council properties in Dingwall started this week, focussing on homes built in the late 1920s to mid-1930s.
A spokeswoman said: "Once all surveys are completed we will need to collate and analyse the findings then look at potential sources of funding and the options available."
A number of homes on Meiklefield Road, Meiklefield Square, Peffery Road, Fingal Road, Millcraig Road and Gladstone Avenue were affected. A letter to tenants notes a marked increase in the costs of maintaining properties so that they can be re-let.
Detailed surveys of some empty properties in Meiklefield Road have shown the properties "are structurally sound, but that they will require considerable investment over an extended period if they are to remain in lettable condition".
The letter says tenants will be kept in the loop: "Your views will help us to decide on a future approach to investment in the estate."
To give your views, contact Mandy Macleman, tenant participation and customer engagement officer, on 01463 702683 or mandy.macleman@highland.gov.uk
