Council acts on ‘serious’ roof defects

A local authority is to conduct structural surveys on a number of its properties after a “potentially serious” defect was discovered in one of its flat-roofed homes.

Letters have been issued to tenants and to owners of ex-council properties in West Dunbartonshire following an incident in a privately-owned home where part of the concrete ceiling collapsed. The home is one of four terraced houses in a block, two of which are owned by the council.
Early structural investigations indicated that repairs to the roof are necessary.
Head of housing and community safety, Helen Turley said: “The council is taking this issue very seriously and as a precaution, one tenant has been moved to alternative accommodation and we are working with the other affected tenant to find his family a suitable, temporary property.
“Structural surveys will be arranged for all our properties of this kind in the area, of which there are 56. These will be carried out over the next five weeks and only then will we know the cause and extent of the problem and if any buildings of a similar design are similarly affected.”
Surveys will look for potential defects with a view to ruling out any unaffected buildings. The council is advising home owners to instruct similar surveys.