Residents living in a troubled Raploch housing development have called for a crunch meeting with developers and Stirling Council as they face being kicked out of their homes for three months.
The issues relate to ongoing investigations regarding the social housing being built at Penman Court, with tenants facing a delay in moving in due to concerns over foundations at the site.
With the probe continuing at Penman Court, nearby residents in Raploch Road received the news earlier this month via a letter from Stirling Council’s head of housing, Stephen Clark, that they may be forced to move out for “approximately 12-14 weeks”.
In the letter, Mr Clark writes the move is to ensure any homes already occupied are not affected by the foundations problem.
He continues: “The program of investigation work will begin after January 2025 and will be carried out over a number of months. It is expected that around four homes will [be] decanted at any one time. Should any issues be found with the foundations, repairs will be undertaken during this decant process.”
One tenant currently living on the stretch of Raploch Road affected, Ellice Richardson, has told the Observer about the uncertainty of the investigations work and frustration over a lack of communication.
Ms Richardson said: “They don’t know how long it is going to take, we don’t know how long individuals will be out of their homes if there are issues found with their foundations.
“It totally came out of the blue, the letter came through the letterbox and all we’ve had is a liaison officer from the council coming around the street to test the water but nobody is happy which is understandable.
“They could be digging into floors as part of this. We think we might be able to move things from downstairs to upstairs, but we need to take our beds and furniture so we need to know where we’re going.
“A lot of the residents want a meeting with the council and Robertsons [the housing contractor] because there are questions that people want answered.
“A couple of people asked about maybe putting us into the houses just completed up the back, but then that just mucks things up for those waiting to move in there.”
The site at Penman Court covers a range of private and social housing and a professional assessment of potential problems, including possible foundation works is being carried out.
Stirling North councillor Jim Thomson is among the local representatives who have been left “deeply concerned” over the delays and said tenants moving into the site deserved “clear answers” over any faults with foundations in the buildings.
A spokesperson for Stirling Council said: “Housing officers are contacting all affected tenants as well as providing detailed written information to each household.
“We are liaising with Robertson Partnership Homes on the matter and will provide further information including detail on the timing of moves and disturbance allowances when this becomes available.
“We recognise the significant inconvenience this will cause to our tenants and we would like to apologise for the disruption that this will cause.”
A spokesperson for Robertson Partnership Homes said: “During the build on other areas of the development, issues were identified with the ground improvement treatment and as a responsible landlord, Stirling Council has instructed investigations be undertaken to homes completed prior to the ground improvement issue being identified.’’