A mum who lives in a set of Edinburgh flats made famous by Trainspotting due to their notorious reputation for drug abuse and violence has revealed what day to day life is really like.
Kirsty Chatwood, who has lived at Cables Wynd House in Leith for 22 years and raised her two children there believes many problems of inequality and poor quality housing is caused by the flats reputation.
The block- known locally as the banana flats – were made famous by Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel Trainspotting and subsequent movie which linked them to drug abuse but the 48-year-old believes this is far from reality for the locals who call them home.
In 2022, Edinburgh Council announced an ambitious retrofit for the building including upgrading insulation, communal areas, ventilation, kitchens and bathrooms. While residents have welcomed the news there are still concerns that need to be addressed.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Kirsty said: “I’ve raised two kids here, and the reputation this building has just isn’t true. It wasn’t true during the Trainspotting era either. The misconceptions are horrendous.
“There’s this assumption still that we’re all drug addicts, that everyone is violent. It isn’t like that. The people here, the children here, are brilliant. Yes, we have a few issues here and there but what neighbourhood doesn’t? If you think about the number of flats in the building it is a small village.”
Kirsty, who is an active member of the Cables Wynd House Residents Group explained: “The building doesn’t have much insulation. I had mould in my bathroom – lots of people in the building do. They just fixed mine two weeks ago, and it was an issue for eight years.
“We also have a problem with the heating. When the building got a refit they put in a new heating system, which doesn’t work. Every time it fails it takes out a bunch of flats. It’s been the bane of our existence since it went in.
“The building has a reputation, and people feel like nobody cares about us. When we have an issue it’s almost like ‘they won’t fix it so why bother trying’.
“If they repair something, it’ll be c**p because we’re that building. The council just doesn’t take us seriously.”
Not only are tenants feeling as though they aren’t being heard, but they have also faced being the subject of a ‘tour’.
“A few years ago during the Fringe, people were running tours of the building to show you the ‘smack whores’ and things. It was a Trainspotting based kind of tour.
“It was really horrific language, and people were staring and pointing. The council stepped in and put a stop to it. We’ve not had that since. It was like being in a zoo.
“The thing is people do live here with drug addictions and poor mental health, and it is harder for tenants to get support because we live here. People here are overlooked and dismissed,” she said.
Despite the building’s reputation being far from every day life for the residents, the stigma of being from a deprived area still has a ripple effect.
She said: “We’re not considered valuable members of society. People in the building aren’t told anything. We have a significant issue with them communicating things. We’ve raised issues at meetings that never get solved.
“I think for a lot of people it’s not actually a conscious decision, it’s a perception that people just can’t seem to shake. Years ago the council organised a bike repair course for the young boys in the building. It was cancelled within a week’s notice. Would they have done that if it was in Morningside?
“The kids here are regular teenage boys you find everywhere, they were really excited about it. It’s things like that, we have them ripped away from under us all the time.
“There are lots of kids here doing amazing stuff, and we need to celebrate that instead of assuming they’re not worth it. I love my flat, I just wish they invested more in the building.”
Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron said: “The Council is committing a significant investment of £69 Million in Cables Wynd House to address the concerns of our tenants, as set out in this report.
“Our commitment to our tenants is to make sure everyone is kept informed about when the works start and importantly, what it means for them. Our priority as a Council and as a landlord must be and is that all our tenants have a safe, comfortable, and well-maintained home.”
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