Tillydrone residents demand repairs to homes amid increasing neglect

Tillydrone residents are calling for Aberdeen City Council to carry out crucial repairs to their homes over fears the suburb is “being ignored”.
They believe that numerous gutters and fascias along tenement blocks in the area are rotten due to a “lack of maintenance” over the years.
Some fascias have been fixed while others have been left to fall apart – some are in such a bad way that pigeons have moved in.
A number of drains across the area are also blocked up, causing flooding misery during spells of heavy rain.
But despite multiple attempts to report these problems, they still remain.
Community councillor Billy Kidd has lived in Tillydrone for more than 50 years and has noticed a change within the neighbourhood.
He told the LDRS that he has flagged “hundreds of things” to the local authority but says that his warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
“We’ve been doing walkabouts with council officials and councillors pointing things out for at least 10 years,” Billy said.
“It’s the same things we’ve been pointing out at every walkabout and there’s very little being done.
“The council knows that it needs done but they haven’t taken a decision.
“Somebody has got to decide because people deserve better.”
Billy revealed the community council started having monthly meetings with council chiefs in a bid to see some positive changes.
However, this was stopped after just a couple of months as the group claimed nothing was being done.
The community stalwart believes the 60-year-old flats pose a massive financial problem to the local authority.
Billy explained: “They need major work and investment, it’s either that or knock them down because they are past their best.
“They are alright on the inside but the whole structure on the outside is not good.”
While giving us a tour around the suburb, Billy revealed that some buildings have been missing gutters for at least two years.
“A lot of the roofs are covered in thick moss and the gutters need a regular clean out, but they are leaking all over the place which rots the facias,” he said.
“When the fascias rot the gutters fall down, it’s the same all over.
“At one time you could fix all of that on a ladder, now you need a cherry picker or scaffolding so it’s more costly and is just ignored.”
Blocked drains may be an issue across Tillydrone, but it is a significant problem on Hayton Road in particular.
Billy explained: “When kids are waiting to cross to get to school with their parents, they have to jump back when traffic goes over because the water splashes.”
The frustrated community councillor added: “How hard is it to clean out a gully?”
He also stated that some ridge tiles at the top of buildings which were blown off during Storm Arwen in 2021 haven’t been replaced yet.
Significant investment has been made in Tillydrone in recent years including new housing and the replacement Riverbank School that will welcome pupils later this year.
Aberdeen’s third Cryuff Court was opened in the suburb last May, named after former Dons skipper Willie Miller.
While Billy welcomed the new additions, he believes more should be done.
“We are getting a new school and new flats and all the rest of it, but what about the rest of the community?
“Things that were done 50 or 60 years ago are not done now and it all boils down to money.
“Things have dragged on – instead of painting every three or four years, they are maybe leaving it for 10 years and everything is rotten by then.
“But it can’t go on the way it is, the council has got to take the decision – do we sort them, do we spend major money, are they worth it, or are they needing knocked down?”
He added: “It’s a good community but it’s just going to wrack and ruin.”
Councillor Ross Grant regularly joins Billy on the walkabouts and shares residents’ exasperation with the “inadequate” condition of Tillydrone’s buildings.
He added: “After years of lobbying council officials and trying to warn them of the growing state of disrepair that these buildings are in, I am fearful that without a commitment to clear and significant investment that some of these buildings are coming to the end of their life.
“The council must work with the community to make more tangible progress on improvement projects for these buildings.”
Aberdeen City Council has been approached for comment. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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