We got two hours to evacuate the home stuffed with our rak.

Standing close to the steel fence, now he’s across the block of flats that he as soon as referred to as house, the Jimmy Vallance seems on the steel shutter bolted on the window of his front room.

He shakes his head and sighs

“It is a shame to see this way,” he says.

Jimmy lived within the prime ground flat in tilicoltra for greater than 40 years with none drawback.

It was till October 2023 when he and his spouse, Fiona, have been ordered to depart with solely two hours discover after discovering the RAAC concrete within the roof of the constructing.

“It was a shock” he says.

“After two or three weeks you are sitting in temporary housing, looking at four walls. You have not found any furniture of yourself. You are surrounded by boxes. And it likes,” Oh man, it's disappointing. “

Possiblely dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – an inexpensive, light construction material used widely between 1950 and 1980s – was discovered in three blocks of flats in tilicoltry around the same time

27 properties, 10 of which are privately owned by private, have been away from the border ever, but the council says it is working with residents on a solution.

Raac stands Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

It is a light material that was mostly used in flat roofs, but also in floors and walls between the 1950s and 1990s.

It is a cheaper option for standard concrete, sharp to produce and easy to install.

It is aerated, or “bubbly” – like an aero chocolate bar.

But it is less durable and has a lifetime of about 30 years.

Its structural behavior varies greatly from traditional reinforced concrete.

In addition, it is susceptible to structural failure when exposed to moisture. Bubbles may allow water to enter the material.

Raac is often coated with another material, such as bitumen on roof panels. But this material can also be low.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stated that RAAC was now beyond his lifetime and could be “low or collapse with any discover”.

Jimmy and his wife spent 15 months living in a temporary residence in a nearby Alva, saying that their physical and mental health were taken a toll.

In November last year, the 64 -year -old Scottish was driving for a protest in Parliament – RAAC to demand more help for the owners of the affected house – when he suddenly felt unwell.

He faced the first of three seizures on the roadside, due to which he was kept in a 24 -hour motivated coma.

“Hypertension and stress of being in that place. I feel the mix was constructed, and made and it simply hit me instantly.

“Was my seizure brought from stress that they could not actually say, but it has had some kind of effect.”

For the homeowners of Jimmy, and different family homeowners, a serious supply of stress continues uncertainty about what is going to occur to buildings.

After spending greater than 18 months on potential choices, together with demolition, the dialog has now moved in the direction of the restore of the flats.

“If it is repaired, we have received money for repair,” Jimmy says.

“Do I get a loan? Do we get a loan from the council? I do not have a hostage, but do we go to a bank? At the end of the day I am in a position where I have not received finance for him.”

The Clackmanshire Council stated it’s dedicated to working with personal house homeowners on the RAAC problem.

But, dissatisfied at what they see as an absence of assist, the residents have arrange a marketing campaign group.

He hopes {that a} assembly with council officers and contractors will present some readability on Monday afternoon.

The group has additionally written to the Housing Minister of Scotland to ask for the assembly

Paul McLenn just lately traveled to Aberdeen to hearken to the considerations of the residents dwelling in RAAC affected properties.

He will attend an identical assembly in Dundi this afternoon.

McLenn stated: “I believe this is a very difficult time for the affected people.

“Raac is a cross-UK drawback, and we’ve got change into clear from the start {that a} cross-UK answer is required.

“We have repeatedly asked the UK government to provide a dedicated RAAC Remediation Fund, which they have failed to do unfortunately”

After returning to Tilicoltry the place he’s rented a bungalow, Jimmy says life is “100 times better” at his lowest level.

He and Fiona now wish to resolve this lengthy -lasting saga.

“We need to finish it and we just need to walk so that it can be easy for us.”

“I am not getting any small at the end of the day, so I can do all this without trouble.”