Letters: Get yourself a good lawyer to stop the rot setting in

Some years ago I lived in a terraced villa next to a neighbour who had neglected his property in a big way. Dry rot was discovered to have spread to my property and a repair bill of around £4000 was quoted to me. My neighbour’s bill was somewhere in the region of £35,000.

My neighbour refused to have the repairs done, and of course both houses required to be done at the same time.

I was advised by the council that it would issue a Statutory Notice and the bill would be divided equally between us and the council had the say as to who would do the job.

I was going to be lumbered with a bill of £20,000 through no fault of my own.

I had this worry for a couple of years. I had a councillor who was no help at all.

Fortunately a dry rot firm took an interest in purchasing the neighbouring property and because my solicitor had previously taken out a writ and an inhibition against the property, he had the ball at his feet. He was able to negotiate the dry rot being fixed before we would discharge the inhibition to permit the sale.

I don’t know where I would have been without a good solicitor.

F Rutherford, Leith

Struggling stores should keep cash

ARE our councillors stone-deaf? The citizens of the Capital don’t want trams, we have a terrific bus service.

I naively thought councillors represented our wishes, instead they have deliberately gone against us and re-started the costly, ill-fated tram project – shame on them.

Due to the recession even High Street and Princes Street are having a struggle to survive.

Business has never been so bad – the never-ending sales, empty shops, “To let” signs everywhere.

What the store bosses in Princes Street should do is, collectively, refuse to pay the extortionate rates and send the bills to the councillors who are wholly responsible for the serious loss of business, entirely due to the closure of Princes Street.

Sylvia M DeLuca, Baberton Park, Juniper Green

Gardeners have created a delight

I CURRENTLY work with hard of hearing, deaf and deaf-blind patients in Edinburgh.

May I convey my heartfelt thanks to the city council for marking out the 100th anniversary of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf by displaying the floral clock layout in Princes Street Gardens, a wonderful idea indeed.

A special thank-you goes to the gardeners who are responsible for the delicate work involved.

Amongst the turmoil with the tram works in Princes Street, the Gardens are a delight to stroll through.

Edward Macaulay-Davidson, Edinburgh

Bodies committed to assisting all

COMMENTS made about the need for equality in housing (Interactive, September 24) paint a misleading picture about what we as providers of social housing in the city are delivering.

We are committed to practise the very highest standards of governance and are proud of our record over more than 35 years operating in many of the most deprived areas and communities in greatest need of good quality affordable housing.

We operate open membership for anyone interested in becoming involved in supporting our work for communities and are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and to eliminate discrimination in all of our work.

Each of us iscommitted to the 2010 Equalities Act and is regulated and inspected in this area. Equality for all groups is embedded and intrinsic in the work we do.

We continue to encourage people from all backgrounds to get involved in supporting our efforts.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive, Port of Leith Housing Association; Ewan Fraser, Chief Executive, Dunedin Canmore Group; Alister Steele, Managing Director, Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association