Angry protestors call for West Lothian council to back RAAC campaign

West Lothian Council has agreed to back public meetings for home owners affected by RAAC after a day of emotional hearings in the Livingston chambers.
There was a vocal protest outside the Civic Centre in the hour before a meeting of the full council.
Campaigners are fighting for help over fears home owners across the country could be facing potentially catastrophic bills over the presence of the unsafe concrete in their houses.

And in the chambers home owner Ashleigh Mitchell gave a tearful account of her experience since buying her home in Chestnut Grove in Livingston.
She told councillors it was "unfathomable" that the presence of RAAC in her home had been withheld from her and other home buyers.
Councillors also heard from 'ghost estate' campaigner Kerry Macintosh who called for the council to back home owners

She told the meeting: "Home owners deserve assurances about the valuation of their homes."
National RAAC campaigner Wilson Chowdhry, whose daughter Hannah bought a house in Aberdeen only to discover within two months that RAAC had been found in the roof, called on the council to support home owners with calls to the Scottish Government and suggested the council could follow the example of Basildon in Essex which had offered funds to relocate tenants.

Councillor Damian Doran-Timson tabled a motion calling for public meetings in the areas affected and said that council officers and RSL's including Almond Housing should be invited to address home owners.
He said: "This is about doing the right thing for the home owners we have heard from today and for those who may be affected. Let's do the right thing for the people of West Lothian. What we need to do is to get those who can fix it to fix it."

Deputy provost Peter Heggie told the meeting in later debate "the motion puts a bit of structure" for the home owners and put the council on the right direction to offer more support for home owners.
While there were widespread calls around the chamber for a united front from all political sides to move forward, there was still argument about which government should ultimately pay.
The SNP had suggested an amendment but later withdrew and agreed to support the motion.

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