Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Asbestos removal next step in Perth neighbours’ 4-year battle to stay warm

The Perth residents took out loans to have external wall insulation fitted at their homes. And then the problems began.

Pete Wishart standing outside two storey house with two men and a woman.
Pete Wishart MP contacted OVO after residents complained to him about their home insulation. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

A group of Perth neighbours could be nearing the end of a FOUR-YEAR fight to stay warm after new insulation left their homes colder and costlier to heat.

Power firm OVO has said it will do work for free on five properties in the Craigie area AND pay for asbestos to be removed from their attics.

The discovery of the potentially harmful material was the latest sticking point in the residents’ long-running feud with the company.

The neighbours spent thousands having external wall insulation installed on their former council houses.

And for the last four years, they say they’ve endured frozen pipes, icy draughts and rocketing fuel bills.

More recently they were told OVO wouldn’t fix the issues with their homes while asbestos is present in their lofts.

OVO Energy logo on side of green van.
Insulation provider OVO has offered to fix the issues as a goodwill gesture. Image: Shutterstock.

The Courier intervened after the neighbours took their complaints to their MSP Jim Fairlie and Pete Wishart MP.

And now OVO has said it will act.

A spokesperson said: “We’re currently informing the five residents that as part of a conditional offer we will offer to undertake the additional works free of charge, including the asbestos removal, as goodwill.”

Ovo insulation loan ended in ‘fiasco’

The residents stay around Glenlochay Road, Glendevon Road and Glenartney Terrace.

And they say they were happy in their homes until they received a letter from Perth and Kinross Council inviting them to a session to discuss having new insulation fitted.

Liz Robb, arms folded, outside two-storey former council house in Glenlochay Road, Perth
Liz Robb says the OVO Energy insulation left her home colder than ever. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

The council’s involvement gave them confidence that everything was above board.

And so they signed up, taking out loans under a Scottish Government-funded home energy efficiency programme.

One of the neighbours Liz Robb says the pipes at her home froze for the first time in January 2021.

That was after the insulation was installed in December 2020.

And it’s happened twice more since then.

“It is difficult to illustrate the effect this fiasco has had on me in terms of health, heartache and distress,” she said.

Asbestos discovery nothing to do with OVO insulation

George Stewart says it’s so draughty under his stairs that candles won’t stay lit.

George Stewart leaning on fence outside two-storey former council house in Glenartney Terrace, Perth
George Stewart is another who was battling with OVO Energy over the insulation. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

And if someone lights a fire or smokes outside, it pours into the house through the gaps in the walls.

George says the insulation boarding was never sealed properly.

Tape coming away from insulation board on exterior wall of George Stewart's home
Tape around the insulation at George’s house. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

And the issues with the asbestos felt like the final slap in the face.

“I have had enough,” he said.

David Black agrees.

“Because we have said we can`t afford to get our attics cleared of asbestos, OVO have jumped on this to do nothing,” he said.

David Black, arms folded, outside smart former council house in Glendevon Road, Perth.
David Black doesn’t see what asbestos has to do with it. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

“What has doing work in my attic got to do with moving my gas box to get it sealed around – and all the other work they proposed to do on the outside of our houses?”

Neighbours ‘acted in good faith’

Perth and Kinross-shire MP Pete Wishart says he made representations to OVO Energy Solutions, Perth and Kinross Council, the Energy Secretary, OFGEM and trading standards after the residents got in touch.

He’s hopeful that the issues might soon be resolved.

“OVO seem to be willing to resolve the issue once and for all,” he said.

“It certainly shouldn’t have taken this long for them to do so, but I welcome any progress being made.”

 left to right, George Stewart (22 Glenartney Terrace), Pete Wishart MP, Liz Robb (21 Glenlochay Road) and Dave Black (20 Glendevon Road) with Pete Wishart outside one of the houses
Pete Wishart visited the residents’ houses. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP Jim Fairlie says the neighbours don’t deserve the anxiety they have suffered.

“They agreed to have the original work done in good faith,” he said.

“I am certain that nobody would have proceeded had they known how much stress this would cause them.”

Council removed asbestos as precaution

Perth and Kinross Council says quality inspections show the new insulation was installed correctly.

It says it was the the previous cavity wall insulation that was wrongly installed.

And the problems arose when this was removed.

Perth and Kinross Council logo on wall of council HQ in Perth
Perth and Kinross Council may have to borrow significantly more. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

The spokesperson said small fragments of chrysotile (white) asbestos were found in the attics of 27 homes in the area in 2023.

It’s thought to be residue from roof replacement works carried out under the old Perth and Kinross District Council in the 1980s.

This type of asbestos is judged to be a very low risk to health, so long as it’s not disturbed.

However, the council says it took the decision to clean out the attics of its own houses “as a precaution”.

Conversation