Edinburgh flat owners say listed status for their troubled building would ruin their lives
‘This is not how we expected to spend this stage of our lives’ - Christopher Spall
Owners in a troubled Edinburgh block of flats say their lives will be ruined if the authorities decide to give the building listed status.
Westfield Court in Gorgie has been plagued for years by problems with the heating system, leaking sewage pipes, cladding panels, fire safety and flooding. And the council, which owns 32 of the 94 flats, announced last year it wanted to knock it down and replace it with new social housing.
It began making offers to buy back the privately owned flats so it could carry out the demolition. But an application was lodged with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to list the building, which would make it much more difficult to go ahead with demolition. The council halted the buy-back process and talked of pulling out of the building altogether.
Christopher Spall, 74, said he and his wife Kathleen, 67, had been trying to sell their flat, but now say they feel "completely trapped".
They have lived in Westfield Court for five years, but want to move to be nearer their daughter.
Mr Spall, a retired engineer and technology teacher, said: "We have reached a point in our lives where we can no longer keep our flat due to financial and family reasons.
"We began the process of trying to sell it, but it turned out to be impossible because the flat had lost its value due to the potential demolition of the building by the council.
"The council offered to buy our flat, which was a massive relief to us both. There was no way we could afford the bills needed to make the building safe. Our lives were then turned upside down when the offer was withdrawn because of the potential listing.
"We now feel trapped in a flat that is part of an unsafe building, cannot be properly insured, and faces ever-increasing costs. We cannot sell it, and we cannot move on with our lives."
Some Westfield Court residents welcome the prospect of listing as a way of halting demolition of homes they want to remain in.
But Mr Spall says he doesn't think it is right that a decision to list a building could leave owners trapped and facing financial consequences they have no realistic way of meeting.
"The repair costs already discussed are frightening, and we know they continue to rise the longer this goes on. We cannot see how ordinary people could ever afford them."
It has been estimated investment of £48 million - or £500,000 per flat - would be needed to reinstate to the building to an acceptable standard.
Mr Spall said: "This is not how we expected to spend this stage of our lives. At our age, uncertainty and constant change are much harder to cope with. Every day brings another worry about what might happen next, another bill, another delay and no clear end in sight.
"We understand the importance of protecting buildings where appropriate, but surely there must be a better way."
HES has already said it was likely to grant listed status, but now has to decide whether to go ahead with a consultation or drop the plan.
Mr Spall said he wants those making the decision to realise the human cost involved. "I want them to appreciate what we will be faced with if they list. It's going to ruin the lives of all the owners who want to sell. I want them to realise what it's going to do to all the people."
Lisa Cockburn, of the Westfield Court Owners group, echoed his feelings. She said: "We recognise and respect the importance of protecting Scotland's heritage. However, we hope HES gives equal weight to the exceptional circumstances at Westfield Court and the impact any decision will have on the people who own and live in the building."
HES has said eight-storey Westfield Court, built in the early 1950s and described as "the original banana flats", is of special architectural and historic interest as Edinburgh’s first post-war venture into mass multi-storey flats.
And it added that the building had distinctive design features. "It has an innovative curved plan form connecting individual housing ‘units’. The projecting balconies serving individual flats are now a rare and early survival within the context of the high-rise building type. The carved panel by celebrated sculptor Hew Lorimer also adds to the design interest."
Edinburgh council has described the block as "architecturally unremarkable" and said it will oppose listing.