Minutes:
(A) The Council received a deputation from Ms Gayle Stephen and Mr Kenny Anderson from UCAN in relation to agenda item 7.1. Ms Stephen advised that she was the Office Manager with UCAN, which was a local cancer charity established in 2005 and summarised its aims. She emphasised that one in three men in Scotland diagnosed with a urological cancer were diagnosed too late, and that if urological cancers were caught early, it relieved pressures on other services. She added that UCAN had minimal financial outgoings - she was the organisation’s only employee and the Board were all volunteers, and emphasised that every pound raised went directly to front line services.
Mr Anderson advised that he was a Director on the Board of UCAN and he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018, but having benefited from UCAN’s robotic surgery, he was given the all clear, following which he made a donation to UCAN and joined the Board last year. Mr Anderson stated that they were seeking the Council’s support to adapt an existing space at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (Ward 209) to provide a rapid diagnostic centre, which would provide a one stop diagnostic process for patients, both male and female.
Ms Stephen emphasised that this would help build on the existing success of Aberdeen’s robotic surgery and enhance Aberdeen’s global reputation as a centre of excellence and provide lifesaving outcomes. Mr Anderson noted that the total cost of the project was £2.5m, with donations received and work under way on funding applications, however they were seeking £250,000 from the Council which would allow them to commence the first phase of the unit, which would start delivering benefits for patients and their families.
Ms Stephen emphasised that they could not wait any longer and begged the Council for their help.
During the course of questions to the deputation, Councillor Yuill advised that he was changing his transparency statement, made within Article 3 of the minute, to a declaration of interest and withdrew from the meeting.
Councillor Blake advised that she had a connection by reason of her husband having had testicular cancer and benefitting from support from UCAN, however having applied the objective test she did not consider that she had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.
Councillor Watson advised that he had a connection by reason of his mother having passed away due to bladder cancer, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.
Councillor Ali advised that he had a connection by reason of his wife having had Professor N’Dow as her surgeon, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.
Councillor Kusznir advised that he had a connection by virtue of Professor N’Dow having been mentioned, as Professor N’Dow was an NHS appointed trustee on a trust that he managed, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.
The Council thanked Ms Stephen and Mr Anderson for their deputation.
(B) The Council received a deputation from Ms Hannah Leiper in relation to agenda item 9.1 on behalf of Hannah Chowdhry, who was unable to be in attendance. Ms Leiper advised that Ms Chowdhry was delighted to become a home owner in Torry just four months ago, however her delight soon turned to anxiety and despair when the Council advised that her property was one of many which had been constructed with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), which had left her with a bleak and uncertain future.
Ms Leiper stated that the Council’s proposal to only offer the current market value for the property was nothing short of a betrayal and she felt the Council was turning its back on the affected citizens, leaving many in financial ruin with no meaningful support. She emphasised that this was not a fair valuation and it was a deeply flawed approach - it was not compensation but a surrender and imposing a forced migration from homes that were loved and the community they were part of.
Ms Leiper urged the Council to look at Clackmannanshire Council which had chosen a different path by offering pre RAAC valuations for affected properties. She called upon the Scottish Government to establish a national fund to support affected homeowners and put in place the necessary legislation to ensure that this could not happen again. Ms Leiper urged Councillors to join their protest and petition to the Scottish Parliament which had attracted over 7,800 signatures.
(C) The Council received a deputation from Mr Wilson Chowdhry, Chair of the UK RAAC Campaign Group, in relation to agenda item 9.1, and also on behalf of his daughter Hannah Chowdhry. Mr Chowdhry referred to numerous sections of the report and emphasised that many homeowners were unaware that the Council was only offering current market value for affected properties and that there was a profound disconnect between the Council’s intentions and the public’s understanding.
Mr Chowdhry noted that many homeowners would be left in financial ruin and that the Council’s approach was exacerbating stress not supporting its citizens. He questioned why the Council was not considering grants, loans and shared equity as other options. Mr Chowdhry stated that he had raised concerns with Council officers in private meetings, however his concerns had not been addressed and homeowners were now having the threat of health and safety legislation used against them if they refused to sell their homes at devalued prices. He emphasised that citizens should be able to trust the Council, however they felt that trust had been betrayed.
Mr Chowdhry queried the extent to which Scottish Government Ministers had been consulted and whether national funding would be made available to help support homeowners. He stated that offering between £10,000 to £30,000 for homes that were previously worth £130,000 was not just unfair, it was an insult to democracy and the principles of fairness; and that homeowners would not be agreeing to sell their homes for those prices. Mr Chowdhry stated that elected members had the power to offer a fairer solution which went beyond the recommendations contained in the report, and urged them to do so.
The Council thanked Ms Leiper and Mr Chowdhry for their deputations and asked questions of Mr Chowdhry on behalf of both deputations.
(D) The Council received a deputation from Ms Paula Fraser in relation to agenda item 9.1. Ms Fraser advised that she represented the Torry Community RAAC Campaign and she was very angry at how things had been handled. She was particularly angry that affected tenants and homeowners had not been notified of the proposal to demolish homes until after the report had been published online. Ms Fraser felt there was a complete lack of understanding by the Council, and those unaffected could not begin to imagine how it felt to have the prospect of your home being demolished.
Ms Fraser emphasised that the financial offers would not even cover current mortgage fees in many cases, never mind pay for somewhere else to live. Many homeowners would be unable, or too old, to secure a mortgage for a new property and may be unable to afford to rent. She underlined that the Council had to offer homeowners a fair price pre RAAC. Ms Fraser highlighted that many faced financial ruin and questioned where was the justice and where was the duty of care from the Council towards those affected.
Ms Fraser stated that this had dragged on for 10 months, however local authorities had been warned about RAAC for decades and had ignored those warnings. She urged Councillors to do the decent thing and find a speedy process that was fair for all - a lot of people had lost trust in the Council and Ms Fraser suggested that perhaps an outside arbiter should be enlisted to assist in the process.
The Council asked questions of Ms Fraser and Mr John Mieklejohn, who was in attendance to support Ms Fraser, and thanked Ms Fraser for her deputation.