Residents in Leith flats left without water for four days after leak in building

Residents at the flats, on St Clair Road, awoke on Sunday morning (August 31) to find communal areas in the flat block flooded following a leak in the building.

A resident said they contacted the building's factor, James Gibb, after the discovery and was told that someone would attend within four hours of that call.

But it took almost nine hours for water to the property to be switched off, following visits from both Scottish Water and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and residents were left struggling to keep water from entering the ground floor flats.

Those living in the building have now been left without running water for four days.

One resident, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer and uses a stoma bag, said: “They still think it’s fine to leave us without any water, unable to flush toilets or wash hands.”

Sukhada Tatke, who also lives in the building, said that work was due to begin on Wednesday however there had been no movement throughout the day, nor on Thursday when the Edinburgh Evening News visited.

Speaking today, Sukhada said: “The factor said they've been in touch with contractors who would start work on Wednesday, so yesterday, but we have no idea what's going on, because the factor has not been responsive at all.”

Residents have been without water for four days | Supplied

Jessica Johannesson is also a resident in the flats. She has a new baby and said that, like other tenants, she has been offered vouchers to use showers at local gyms.

She said: “No one's been offered alternative accommodation. Even though we couldn't flush our toilet, we couldn't wash our hands. With a 12 week old, we were offered vouchers to go have showers at a gym.”

Half of the 36 flats in the building have been affected by the water being shut off, with those still without access having to rely on those in other flats to give them water for cooking and cleaning.

But both Sukhada and Jessica have now vacated their homes and are staying with friends.

Sukhada said: “James Gibbs said the insurance would reimburse us for bottled water, as if that's the only thing we need. For the first couple of days, we went up to our neighbours on the fourth floor for showers and to use the loo. Cooking was a pain, but we managed. We would go up to do the dishes. Now we've moved out of here.”

Communication to residents from James Gibb seen by the Edinburgh Evening News suggests that attempts will be made to fix the leak on Friday (September 5). It acknowledges that following pressure from local representatives, they will also arrange a delivery of water, but residents were told this would come at a cost.

The letter said: “We understand the seriousness of this matter and whilst we appreciate owners will have made private arrangements, your local councillor has expressed the providing of water should be organised by the collective ownership with the factor arranging this on owners’ behalf. Whilst we don’t have the authority to sanction this without a mandate as it falls outwith our remit, we are keen to help where we can.

“We obtained a quote from Central Industrial Service to provide emergency water should owners wish for us to make arrangements for a delivery. The cost of 1 pallet (516, 1 litre bottles) would be £2,360 plus VAT. At this stage we cannot confirm if any of this could be claimed from the insurers as part of the claim.”

There is further complexity in part due to the mix of rental and owned properties in the building, with many tenants relying on a combination of landlords, agencies and the factor to address the issues.

James Gibb has been contacted for comment.