Assurances over the safety of buildings in Perth city centre are being sought following the latest in a long line of incidents of masonry falling on to the pavement.
Concerns were raised after large chunks of mortar tumbled from the exterior of flats on Old High Street on to a busy thoroughfare earlier this week.
Although no-one was injured by the debris, one witness claimed that had anyone been struck, it would have caused “serious damage.”
The centre of the town has been blighted by masonry falling from buildings, which has led to streets being closed on countless occasions, while units from Tayside Fire and Rescue Service secured the area.
Just four weeks ago fire-fighters were called out to George Street to remove loose bricks and plasterwork from a block of flats, after large pieces fell on to a crowded shopping street, narrowly missing pedestrians.
However, Perth and Kinross Council are not responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of any privately-owned buildings. Instead, they are only able to take enforcement action when the state of a property is considered to pose an “immediate” safety risk and, even then, all they have done in the “majority of instances” is secure the building to prevent public access before serving a notice on the owner, advising them to carry out repairs.
A spokesman said, “The council were advised by Tayside Fire and Rescue that Monday’s incident involved the removal of amounts of loose mortar on the face of the building, not a masonry collapse.
“The council would remind the public that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of a building in their ownership and strongly recommend that if they have concerns about the condition of their property they should approach a qualified building surveyor for professional advice.
“It is also recommended that owners assess the condition of their property following any extreme weather event.”
The building standards team has previously acted to make a building safe and in 2006, spent £96,000 making St Paul’s Church wind and watertight, which was followed by a legal bid to claw the cash back from the previous owners.
The decision to undertake the temporary repairs was made after the local authority failed to get a response from the firm that owned the church at the time, as the building was becoming a danger to the public.
A work programme was undertaken under the supervision of Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Phillie Casablanca.