Readers will recall the scandal which recently engulfed City of Edinburgh Council's Property Conservation Service (PCS). There have been allegations of householders being charged sometimes excessively or for unnecessary work, and of some private firms bribing some public officials in order to secure contracts.
The problem surfaced repeatedly at election hustings in April (e.g. Breaking news, 20.4.12, Question 6), and following last month's Report to the Policy and Strategy Committee the PCS will be abolished in spring 2013.
Council communicators are doing their best to keep calm and carry on, leading to occasional instances of eye-watering understatement (presumably on the advice of lawyers). For example:
The [PCS] used powers under the 1991 Confirmation Act to serve statutory notices, carry out repairs and reclaim the costs. The service was intended as a last resort where owners could not agree on common repairs. However, it increasingly became the owners' first choice leading to an increase in workload and numerous concerns around poor communication, procurement of contractors and accounting.
Notwithstanding such verbal airbrushing of recent history, there does appear to be a genuine desire to consult the public properly on what should come next.
The Council will almost certainly maintain a 24-hour emergency response team, but various other options are still under consideration:
- Council-run or Council-appointed property factors
- Proactive inspections of listed buildings on the at-risk register to identify essential repairs
- Advice/assistance to those householders using the 2004 Tenement (Scotland) Act to manage common repairs
- Project management support.
Anyone wanting more information or wishing to fill in a FREEPOST survey form should first phone Tel. 529 4594/4632. Email responses should go to: propertyconservation.redesign@edinburgh.gov.uk.
An online survey can be accessed here. It takes about 5 minutes, or longer if you keep being interrupted by neighbours whining on about tiny leaks into their top-floor flat.
The consultation period runs until the end of October 2012.
[Photo top-right © Copyright Clive Thompson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.]