Edinburgh retirement development residents furious at eight-month wait to fix 'horrendous' noisy lift
Edinburgh retirment development residents describe living there as “proper hell”
Edinburgh residents have revealed their fury after suffering an eight-month wait for the property’s “horrendous” noisy lift to be fixed.
Residents contacted Environmental Health last November regarding the old lift at Homecairn House in Goldenacre, a retirement development which is run by property management firm FirstPort.
Residents told the Evening News that Environmental Health attended and concluded that the noise from the lift is deemed to be above the permitted level. They added that the council-run agency suggested a new lift and sound proofing is needed.
Despite residents taking these findings to FirstPort eight months ago, residents still have to endure the noisy lift when anyone visits the retirement development.
One of the Homecairn residents is retired property developer Gail Peden, 69, who moved in to her fourth floor apartment last October. She immediately reported the lift to the on-site development manager, who she said told her to “get used to” the noise.
She said: “At 6.30am after my first night staying here I heard the lift and I couldn’t believe it. It’s horrendous, it rumbles through my whole flat. I’m across from the corridor and I’ve got the plant room above, so it’s proper hell.
“It’s that bad my neighbours had to move elsewhere for a bit just to get a break from the noise. I can’t sleep, it’s busy here with people coming and going. You have got the residents, deliveries and health providers, its’ non-stop.
“It’s like a racing car making a sudden stop, which them makes a big clunk noise and a grunt. A note was put up to say don’t use the lift between 10pm and 9am but people still use it at all hours.
“I never bought this place to live like this, with a constant horrendous noise driving me mad. It’s a living hell, with the lift waking me up all the time.
“I’m not paying service charges to ‘get used to it’. We residents expect better for what we pay, this is affecting our health. However, I’m not the kind of person that will just roll over and forget this problem, I’m going to keep fighting.”
First Port has now agreed to replace the lift, but Gail believes the company needs to progress the matter more quickly, having been pressed for action since November.
She said: “I’m paying for them to fix issues like this, and they agreed that a new lift would be needed. We have had lots of meetings, with the issue going up to the area manager in November. She sent me an email to say she was aware of the problem.
“I have escalated it to the operations manager manager, but he is based in Luton. Then the associate director from Glasgow made a visit last month.
“There are numerous issues in this development and the lift is the main problem. We have had meeting after meeting about this issue but the problem still remains.
“Our last meeting was three weeks ago, when we were told that all five quotes to repair the lift are now in and there is going to be a ballot which would be issued to residents for a vote.
“It’s now three weeks since that meeting and there has been no ballot issued. I have been emailing the past couple of weeks but I have not heard a word back.
“It’s just a waiting game now. It’s probably going to be three months to order the new lift, so that could get delayed, and then it’s 15 weeks of a shutdown to replace the lift.
“So it could be another six months that we have to endure this.”
FirstPort has now committed to repairing the lift, with the formal ballot of residents now due to take place in due course.
A spokesperson for the property factor said:"While the lift remains operational, we recognise how frustrating the noise has been for residents and have been working to identify the most effective solution.
"Due to the age of the lift, we were already exploring options for its improvement and have met with homeowners to discuss this. A specialist lift assessment has confirmed that replacement – either full or partial – is required and is the most effective way to resolve the noise issue and ensure the lift's ongoing reliability.
“We have now received and reviewed the quotations for the works. A summary of the proposals will be shared with homeowners, who will be consulted on the options through a formal ballot process, which is required before the major works can take place.”