‘It’s been an absolute nightmare, we’re pulling our hair out’: Edinburgh residents furious as diverted traffic causes damage to homes

There is anger from residents on an Edinburgh street as diverted heavy traffic is causing damage to homes and making buildings ‘unsafe’.

People living in flats on Bellevue Road have spoken of their battle with Edinburgh Council and Lothian transport after tramworks on Leith Walk led buses to be diverted down their street.

Bellevue Road has two speed bumps, and the locals have said that the impact of heavy vehicles going over these bumps at a regular rate shakes surrounding buildings causing plaster to crack and pictures to fall off walls, as well as impacting the mental health of the residents.

One of these residents, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare, we’re pulling our hair out.”

Residents in Bellevue road have spoken of their frustration at the diverted traffic and the damage it is causing.

A group of distressed locals grouped together, sending many emails of complaint to the council and Lothian requesting that either the speed bumps are removed, or the traffic is diverted down Hopetoun Street, which does not have any speed bumps.

They have also requested that a vibration baseline be recorded, and a survey of the building conditions and foundation type, depth and conditions in order to understand the impact on the buildings from the heavy traffic.

They wrote: "You can feel the vibrations on the floor and whilst in bed; they cause doors and windows to shake, piping and radiators to rattle and window frames to move.

Pictures show cracks in the wall that resident's say is caused by the heavy traffic going over speed bumps on the street outside.

"There is already visible damage, such as cracking to plasterwork within many homes, but we do not know the extent of harder to monitor issues such as damage to the building foundations.

“This is a real concern as the propagation of energy is running through the ground and into the building foundation, with vibrations continuing all the way up to the top floor.”

They are concerned that their complaints, and the potential for serious harm, are not being taken seriously.

"Our building is over 100 years old and the continual vibrations are potentially causing untold damage to its foundation, roof and services.

One resident said that at one point, pictures were literally falling off the wall and smashing.

“This issue has been dragging on for approximately six months now and is causing severe stress and anxiety for many of the residents."

Edinburgh Council did initially remove one of the three speed bumps on Bellevue Road, with the residents confused as to why the other two remain.

A spokesperson for Lothian told the Edinburgh Evening News: “We continue to work with The City of Edinburgh Council to mitigate the effects of the temporary road closures resulting from the Trams to Newhaven project.

“Our team have worked hard to put measures in place that limit the impact of our redirected operations within the local neighbourhood, while continuing to ensure we can operate a reliable bus service for the customers who rely on us every day.”

This shows more damage to the plaster work.

In a separate message to one of the residents, Lothian said: “We have not been advised by City Edinburgh Council as Roads Authority of any intention to restrict the use of Bellevue Road, nor have we been asked to adjust our current routings.”

A Council spokesperson said: “We are working closely with Lothian Buses to minimise the impact of traffic diversions and have already removed one speed bump and opened up alternative routes to reduce the number of buses using the street.

“We will continue monitoring the situation in liaison with Lothian Buses.”

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