Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn will today make the case to the UK Government to stump up cash and compensate homeowners in Torry battling the council’s plans to demolish their Raac-affected homes.
The SNP Westminster leader has been pushing for a meeting with the new Labour government for months.
He wants UK ministers to find money to help affected homeowners in the Balnagask area.
Last month Raac campaigners said they felt let down by Mr Flynn after he failed to push the SNP government for homeowners’ compensation, and instead blamed Westminster.
The Torry Community Raac Campaign estimates losses could be up to £50,000 each, as Aberdeen City Council proposes offering “current market values” for their homes.
So far neither the UK or Scottish Governments has offered any extra financial support to Aberdeen City Council.
After trying to secure a meeting to discuss the issue for “many months”, Mr Flynn will meet UK building safety minister Alex Norris today.
‘Open the cheque book’
Mr Flynn told the P&J: “The situation in Torry continues to be unbearable for many homeowners and I’ll be asking the UK Government to do one simple thing – open the cheque book.”
He added: “Just as we had agreement on funding to remove dangerous cladding, so too should we have funding to compensate those with dangerous RAAC.
“The UK Treasury can make that happen and I’ll make the case for that directly to the minister responsible.”
The row has been rumbling on since early last year.
Former Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out any additional cash from Westminster to rectify the problems last March.
The Scottish Government previously said it was short of money because of Conservative funding cuts.
With Labour now in power, Holyrood has an extra £3.4 billion in its budget, leading to calls for fair compensation.
Last month, SNP Housing Minister Paul McLennan said the final decision on how much compensation homeowners receive is for the council.
The local authority has been in discussion with the UK and Scottish governments.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Norris, in response to a question from a Scottish MP about Raac compensation, said it is a “devolved matter”.
He added: “We keep Raac under active consideration in case there’s any support that’s needed.”
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