Barrhead News | News | 'OUR HOMES WILL CRUMBLE TO THE GROUND'

Saturday, 22nd November, 2008

Published: Thursday, 22nd May, 2008 18:00

'OUR HOMES WILL CRUMBLE TO THE GROUND'

By Amanda Keenan

RESIDENTS were left stunned when their street collapsed leaving a massive hole and thousands-of-pounds worth of damage to their building.

Cops rushed to Gertrude Place in the early hours of Thursday morning after receiving reports of an ‘earthquake’.

The street was a scene of chaos as police closed the area to vehicles amid fears the road would continue to cave in.

Now home owners are facing massive bills as they come to terms with the destruction.

Speaking exclusively to the Barrhead News, outraged Tony Anderson, who has lived at his home for 16 years said:

“The building is not safe, it needs to be torn down.

“It looks like the tenement is sinking into the ground.

“Since the road collapsed a massive crack has appeared at the side of the building and you can see the state of the close. There are cracks everywhere.

“I feel like just cutting my losses because the building is in such desperate need of urgent repair.

“That’s if it can be repaired.”

Speaking to the Barrhead News, another tenant who did not want to be named, said: “I was in my bed when I heard a loud noise. I looked out of my window and saw the road collapse.

“Everyday there are cracks appearing in the walls of the close and I really do think the building is subsiding.

“There has to be a problem with the foundations.

“Why would the road collapse and the building crack if there wasn’t a problem?”

The tenement block was built more than 100 years ago and now many of the residents face forking out for repair work.

Tony added: “In the meantime we have to put up with a cracked crumbling building because we own our homes and we are not covered by the council.

“A builder friend of mine thinks the foundations of the building are crumbling. That could be causing the problems if pipes have burst under the road.”

A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “Our engineers attended reports of a road collapse in Gertrude Place, Barrhead.

“Investigations found the collapse to be the result of a damaged surface water pipe and this was confirmed by CCTV camera work. It is therefore the responsibility of East Renfrewshire Council. Our engineers have been working closely to assist the local authority.”

A spokesman for East Renfrewshire council said: “A gully pipe leading to a large carry pipe has burst and caused the road to collapse.

“However, our roads department is currently fixing the problem and has been working to discover why the road collapsed in the first place.

“We hope to have the problem properly repaired as soon as possible.

“In the meantime if residents are concerned they can contact East Renfrewshire Council in 0141 577 3430.”

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