Angry families met news they would be evacuated permanently from their homes in Balnagask with tears and disbelief.
Meanwhile one defiant pensioner shrugged off the concern, happy to wait out the potentially dangerous concrete in his roof which will force hundreds to be moved from Torry by the summer’s end.
A student said her first home, bought only months ago, was forcing her “closer and closer to being homeless”.
Aberdeen City Council broke the news to residents in Balnagask after a behind-closed-doors meeting on Thursday morning.
There, they agreed to a £3 million programme to move tenants from 299 council homes “as soon as possible”.
Letters were delivered by hand soon after. Council tenants and those living in privately-owned homes received different messages.
Those renting from the local authority were told of an appointment with a housing officer to begin the process of decanting from their homes.
The others were given a link to a website listing structural engineers, told to review their home insurance and given a phone number for the housing department.
Across the water in Marischal College, council chief landlord Stephen Booth told The P&J: “The main thing is our tenants, and what we need to do as a landlord.”
Torry Raac residents: ‘I don’t want to be moved to a s***hole’
Many of those we spoke to were scared to give their name, shaken by the lunchtime bomb dropped on them.
Torry is a “dumping ground”, one woman tells me – so this shouldn’t surprise them.
Part of the required anonymity is a suspicion of the council after numerous community blows in the name of industrialisation.
“Where are they going to put us all?” the 64-year-old asks.
“This is a quiet area and I don’t want to be moved to a s***hole.
“There have never been any problems here.”
Leaning across the fence, her neighbour adds: “I was stressed enough when they put the hatches in – and that’s all been for nothing.”
She’s referring to the hundreds of inspection hatches that have been installed in roofs around Balnagask, as engineers looked for Raac.
Some were cut into the ceiling in the last few days – as council chiefs considered word from engineers that houses would need to be emptied.
The pair, Torry quines for decades, agree they want a say in where they go next.
And that they won’t accept a downgrade in the rush to vacate the properties.
“If they can spend money doing up houses from refugees, they can do it for us.
“The Scottish Government needs to step in with money again.”
They have watched next door as engineers tore apart a flat-roofed property identical to theirs, as they worked to better understand what condition the crumbly concrete was in.
‘I was in floods of tears when I read my Raac letter’
Down Balnagask Road, a husband and wife worry about leaving their home, a council property they’ve been in for nearly 20 years.
“I am absolutely devastated,” the woman tells us. “I was in floods of tears as I read the letter.
“I’m 76 and don’t want to be moving. What does ‘as soon as possible’ mean for us?
“I would understand if they were moving us out while the house is made safe – but this is permanently.”
Her husband adds: “There are lots of places I know I don’t want to live.
“And we have put so much of our own time and money into this place.
“I just don’t understand how they will move all of these people.”
‘I have been in Torry all my life – I’m not moving’
Down the slope in Pentland Crescent, a young mother – who found sanctuary in her council house after years of struggling with mental health – says she’s “f***ing p****ed off” at the letter.
“I’m not moving unless I have no option. I have been in Torry all my life.
“My youngest son is upset at the idea. He has ADHD and the school and support are great.
“I really don’t want to move.”
While the council looks to move its tenants in the next couple of months, the way forward is less clear for private occupants.
One despondent dog walker reveals he’s only recently spent £40,000 replacing windows, doors and insulation on his home.
‘I thought I was set for life when I bought my Torry flat’
Meanwhile Ronald Clark, 84, is another keen to wait out the Raac.
He bought his one-bed former council flat privately 20 years ago, above what’s still a council flat below.
“It seems owners are being left to our own devices – I thought the council would at least have come and spoken to us.
“This is all because the council in the 60s made a cheap job of building these homes.
“Now if I were to try and sell it, no one could get a mortgage to buy it.
“I thought I was set for life when I bought this flat. I can’t afford to hire a structural engineer.
“The council is not going to do anything for my flat, they want me to do it – but it’s their roof too.
“I am quite happy to stay here supposing there is nothing happening to the roof in the next few years, I am happy the way it is.”
‘I am getting closer and closer to being homeless’ says Torry student, left to deal with Raac roof herself
While Mr Clark thought he’d bought his last home, Hannah Chowdhry only recently bought her first.
The Aberdeen University student is organising a petition and protest, to get Aberdeen City Council to provide more help for Torry’s Raac-affected homeowners.
“I am more worried than I was before now I have this letter saying the council will start evacuating its tenants.
“I can’t afford to do the same, I spent all my savings to buy my home. The Raac should have been flagged then.
“It will cost thousands to survey the property and tens of thousands more to repair the roof if that is needed.
The 19-year-old adds: “It seems the council don’t care enough to help. I am getting closer and closer to being homeless – and that is very scary.
“That was not something I ever considered might happen when I thought about buying my first home.”
Aberdeen City Council has a frequently asked questions page on its website for tenants and owners impacted by Raac.
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