Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Fears over roof safety
Neighbours worry debris will collapse on grandkids
T WO mo r e W h it f i e ld r e s i d e n t s h a v e c o me forward to say they are worried their roofs may collapse and injure their grandchildren because the material is rotten.
Peter Brady, of Murrayfield Gardens, told the Tele that he originally reported the issues with the cladding on the side and roof of his home to Dundee City Council in November last year who told him it would be replaced.
He said: “Every time I’ve called the council they tell me the problem has been passed on to someone else. There’s been no correspondence from the council – I’ve always had to approach them.”
Peter said a representative from the council had visited to take pictures of the house, but no further work has taken place.
He said: “Since no work has taken place to sort the issue, I’m now really worried that a child could be injured by the falling debris if they were in the garden.”
Peter’s next door neighbour John Barnie has similar worries.
He said: “Our grandchildren can no longer use the back garden unsupervised in case panels from the roof fall down.
“We try to keep them playing in the front garden now.”
John and his wife Tracy have lived at the property for two years. The couple said that the first time they knew something was amiss was when the authority asked for access to their roof space.
He said: “They came and asked if they could get into the attic. We don’t have access to that area ourselves. They told us the whole roof was going to be replaced between October last year and March. “That didn’t happen.” John suffers from lung conditions COPD and emphysema, which he says is being worsened by the dampness in his home.
He said: “The roof space actually flooded at one point. There’s now fungi growing out from the roof and I’m worried the spores will get into my lungs.”
The Tele previously reported how neighbour Ann Lavery feared her roof at the same block of houses was going to fall in.
The blind 57-year-old has said she’s been suffering issues with her roof since 2016 and debris had also been falling into her garden.
Both Peter and John told the Tele the situation with water getting into their homes has meant that wallpaper is now peeling off.
Peter said: “My walls are soaking. The paper is coming off.
“You try to hide it from guests but it’s a total disgrace.”
John added: “We’ve re-papered the wall in one of our bedrooms three times.
“The third time we’ve used a thicker paper i n an attempt to solve the problem but it’s coming away from the wall again. “It’s totally pointless.” Dundee City Council was approached for comment.