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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
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”.
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