Elderly tenants living in “freezing” conditions in Dundee’s oldest council houses say they are struggling to cope with fuel poverty.
Residents of Logie Estate – the oldest council housing scheme in Scotland – say they are forced to wear dressing gowns over their clothes to keep warm as it is too expensive to keep their homes warm.
The estate was officially opened on May 27 1920 by then Lord Provost of Dundee Sir William Don.
It is now a conservation area, meaning council planners will not allow changes to the appearance of buildings – ruling out external insulation.
However, with an energy price cap rise expected to add an average of £600 per year to household energy bills, residents say something must be done to make their homes warmer.
Anne McDonald, 75, who lives on Elm Street, said: “If the heating isn’t on my house gets cold really quickly.
“I have my heating on as much as possible but it’s so expensive and it looks like costs are only going to get higher.”
Anne said she often has to put on a small electric heater, as well as wearing two or three jumpers at a time or even sometimes her dressing gown.
“The council needs to do something about getting our homes insulated sooner rather than later as many people just can’t afford to have their heating on as much as it’s needed,” she said.
‘I can’t afford to keep the heating on’
Another resident, 69-year-old June Ireland, said her house is freezing.
“It’s okay as long as the heating is on but within 30 minutes of switching it off it is really cold again,” she said.
“It’s far too expensive to keep the heating on all the time so I just have to layer up with clothes during the day.
“I wear my dressing gown on top of my clothes to try to keep warm.”
Call for insulation
Fraser Macpherson, West End councillor and Liberal Democrat group leader on Dundee City Council, is calling for internal insulation to be installed in all Logie homes, following a successful trial in two streets on the estate.
Mr Macpherson said: “I have spoken with many Logie residents about this issue.
“In many parts of the city, council housing and ex-council houses have now benefitted from external insulation.
“However, because of solid wall construction and its historic and conservation area status, Logie cannot have external insulation measures.”
Architectural significance
The councillor contacted David Simpson, the city council’s head of housing and communities, who said changing the outside appearance of Logie Estate properties would be “unacceptable” due to their significance to Dundee’s heritage.
Mr Macpherson said: “There must be progress soon.
“The council has dragged its feet on this and the houses are truly freezing.
“Of all the council-built properties, the Logie houses are some of the hardest to heat anywhere.
“This particularly worries me given the large number of elderly tenants in the sheltered housing area north of Logie Avenue.
“They are in very cold houses and energy bills are currently going through the roof.
“Priority for insulation works should be given to properties that are particularly hard to heat and residents in fuel poverty.”
A spokesman for Dundee City Council encouraged anyone with concerns about heating to contact the Dundee Energy Efficiency Advice Project via deeap@dundeecity.gov.uk or 01382 434840.
He added: “The council continues to invest in energy efficiency measures to help its tenants keep their homes warm.
“A large number of council and privately-owned properties have already benefited from external wall insulation but in some areas, including Logie, this option isn’t available to us due to the conservation status of the area.
“We continue to investigate alternatives for areas where external cladding isn’t possible.”
