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Hilltown resident fears he could be killed if damaged roof is not fixed by council

Gary Henderson. Image: Mhairi Edwards/ DC Thomson.
Gary Henderson. Image: Mhairi Edwards/ DC Thomson.

A Hilltown resident fears he could be killed by falling debris if a damaged roof in his block of flats is not fixed soon.

Gary Henderson says he has been “fobbed off” by Dundee City Council, who he claims are “neglecting their duties” towards council flat residents.

His frustrations stem from a damaged roof in a communal area of his block of flats, on Hilltown, which he says has been deteriorating for three years.

Despite repeated attempts to get the council to repair the damage, no permanent fix has been implemented.

Gary Henderson in the close of his flat. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

Gavin, 34, said: “Frustrated is not the word, I’m really stressed.

“There’s a leak in the loft and for the past three years I’ve been reporting it to the council.

“When we get heavy rain it has started to come into the close and it is getting worse.

“I’ve complained to the council and I keep getting ‘it’s not an emergency’.

“The amount of phone calls I’ve made over the years, it’s like they don’t care about their tenants.”

‘They just don’t sort it’

Gavin, who suffers from epilepsy, says the council has given him a number of reasons why the roof has yet to be fixed, including financial constraints and a backlog of jobs.

The local authority has, however, placed a wooden panel over the problem area as a temporary fix.

Gavin said “Any complaints we make, they just don’t sort it.

“Their excuse is the budget and they don’t have the [money] or they are backlogged because of Covid.”

Gary Henderson with the mushrooms growing inside the back door of the close – which he says he has also complained to the council about. Image: Mhairi Edwards/ DC Thomson

“Fair enough they have a backlog of jobs but what’s more important – fixing a window that has a broken seal or a ceiling collapsing?

“That bit of wood is going to absorb all the water and fall in.

“The last thing I need is to be out there and have the roof come in on me, the concrete could be heavy enough to collapse and I could be dead.”

A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “We are engaged in the matter and undertaking the necessary steps to resolve the issue.”

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