Residents on a Broughty Ferry street have revealed how they face a collective bill of up to £100,000 for repairs to a “dangerous” wall.
A section of Claypotts Road has been shut since last month to allow for work to be carried out on the structure.
The wall was deemed dangerous in 2017 and four homeowners on Langholm Gardens – whose properties back on to Claypotts Road – were told they would have to cover the cost of repairs, because it is on their land.
But some were unable to afford the repairs at the time, and there was never consensus about how it should be done.
Now, the council is carrying out the repairs on public safety grounds and will bill the residents responsible.
William Doran, 57, who previously raised concerns about the safety of the wall with the council, said: “We’ve been quoted a figure of £80,000 to £100,000 altogether.
“The amount that each house will pay depends on the length of wall on their property.
“Personally, there’s a lot of things I’d rather use £20,000 for.
“That price came as a big surprise. We waited so long and I knew that the price would have to go up by something, I just didn’t expect it to be anything like that.
“I can afford it but there are other families on this street that can’t.
“This must be a nightmare for them, because they’re a lot younger with young families.”
Mr Doran also says the council’s red brick finish is not in keeping with the area – but the local authority says it is the cheapest option.
Worry for family amid cost of living crisis
One mum, who asked to remain anonymous, says her share of the cost could be about £24,000.
She said: “We’re a family of five with three young children so this really is financially worrying, especially with the cost of living crisis.
“As a parent, you already go without, but we don’t want our kids to go without too.
“We want them to be able to go on holiday and be part of clubs and things like that, but it’s them that will miss out if we can’t afford it.
“We have been given the most minimal information from Dundee City Council.
“We haven’t been given a plan by anyone and we’ve never been able to speak to anybody about it.
“We’ve not even been given a deadline to pay by.”
Design of new wall is ‘most cost-effective solution’
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said: “As a council, under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, we have statutory duties to protect the public from dangerous buildings and structures.
“A retaining wall serving the four properties on Langholm Gardens was deemed dangerous and a dangerous buildings notice was served requiring the owners to make the situation safe.
“As this notice was not complied with, the construction of a replacement retaining wall was deemed necessary to address the public safety concerns.
“The design of the new wall was considered to be the most cost-effective solution and on completion of the work, the council will attempt to recover all reasonable expenses incurred by using the relevant statutory processes available.”
