Ninewells nurse fears her ‘retirement has been robbed’ after Raac discovered in Dundee home

A Ninewells nurse fears her “retirement has been robbed” after her Dundee home was found to have Raac.

Claire Hughes works as an auxiliary at the hospital and had been hoping to reduce her hours.

But the 55-year-old is one of hundreds of homeowners across the city who has been informed their property was built using the potentially dangerous concrete.

The discovery in her Whitfield Gardens home has left Claire in limbo.

She said: “I feel robbed of my retirement.

“It’s like someone has just put a big wall in front of my life.

“We had plans but can we do them? We were going to do the house up and I was going to reduce my hours at work.

“But that’s not an option anymore because we just don’t know – we could maybe lose this house.

“Torry (in Aberdeen) got told their houses would not be getting demolished, but they are now.”

‘This is my forever home’

Alongside our sister publication The Press and Journal, The Courier has launched our Trapped by Raac campaign to help those affected by the the issue.

We’re asking readers to sign this petition to give campaigners a voice at parliament.

Claire bought her home, where she lives with her husband Chris, 11 years ago.

But prior to the purchase she was never made aware that the property was built using Raac.

“I bought a bungalow because I work in the hospital and I see patients who get stuck there because they live in a semi”, she said.

“Raac was never put on a surveyors report, concrete ceilings is what I got told.

“My son bought a house and on the report it said it may or may not contain asbestos.

“At least that gave him the choice to go research

“This is my forever house. I like my neighbours and I don’t want to have to start over again in a new street.”

‘Your whole outlook is different’

Claire, who got married to Chris last month, added: “It feels like your life is on hold, the uncertainty and not knowing.

“You’re holding onto the money because you don’t know if you will be here in two years time.

“We were planning on buying a campervan when we are mortgage free but we can’t do that because we might need to invest that money to buy a new roof.

“Your whole outlook is different.”

Raac is burgeoning crisis in Dundee, Monifieth and across Scotland.

It was widely considered a cost effective alternative to standard material and was primarily used between the 1950s and the 1990s.

However, concerns over its limited lifespan have prompted fears of structural collapses in extreme cases if water gets through cracks.