'I raised my kids in Edinburgh 'banana flats' and Trainspotting reputation is wrong'
An Edinburgh tenant in the city's iconic 'banana flats' wants people to know the misconceptions of life in the building.
Kirsty Chatwood, who has lived at Cables Wynd House for 22 years and raised two children there, feels the reputation of the structure may be at the core of the problems for residents. The flats were made famous by the 1993 novel Trainspotting and subsequent movie, earning a reputation for drug abuse and violence.
But the reality of life in the brutalist concrete block is nothing of the sort, according to one resident. Kirsty, 48, said the struggle tenants are up against is being 'constantly overlooked' - something she feels comes from the reputation that precedes the building.
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Edinburgh Council's Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron has said they are committing a 'significant investment' into Cables Wynd House and are committed to keeping tenants informed and 'safe, comfortable and in well-maintained homes'.
Cables Wynd House was built in the '60s, and has since become an Edinburgh landmark. In 2017 it was given top listing by Historic Environment Scotland - the same level as Edinburgh Castle. Tenants have mixed feelings about the rating, as they feel it has made upgrades 'more difficult'.
In 2022, Edinburgh Council announced an ambitious retrofit for the building including upgrading insulation, communal areas, ventilation, kitchens and bathrooms. While residents have welcomed the news, they have a range of concerns and want to highlight the aspects of life in the Banana Flats that may have gone unnoticed.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Kirsty said: "I've raised two kids here, and the reputation this building has just isn't true. It wasn't true during the Trainspotting era either. The misconceptions are horrendous.
"There's this assumption still that we're all drug addicts, that everyone is violent. It isn't like that. The people here, the children here, are brilliant. Yes, we have a few issues here and there but what neighbourhood doesn't? If you think about the number of flats in the building it is a small village."
The Cables Wynd House Residents Group launch their Housing Rights Project Report at City Chambers on Thursday, January 30. At the event, tenants will speak on the issues they claim plague the structure.
These include constant fears of the lifts breaking down, tenants being trapped in their flats, extensive waits for repairs, as well as pest and mould problems. When surveyed by the group, nearly on in three (31 percent) of tenants said problems with the lifts caused 'major disruption' to their lives - with seven percent saying they had been completely housebound because of them.
The survey also showed more than half (53 percent) of tenants had mould problems last year, with 19 percent saying anti-social behaviour had affected them. While issues of anti-social behaviour are clearly present, the report also suggests tenants are more concerned with other issues.
Kirsty, who is an active member of the Cables Wynd House Residents Group, told us: "The building doesn't have much insulation.
"I had mould in my bathroom - lots of people in the building do. They just fixed mine two weeks ago, and it was an issue for eight years.
"We also have a problem with the heating. When the building got a refit they put in a new heating system, which doesn't work. Every time it fails it takes out a bunch of flats. It's been the bane of our existence since it went in.
"The building has a reputation, and people feel like nobody cares about us. When we have an issue it's almost like 'they won't fix it so why bother trying'.
"If they repair something, it'll be c**p because we're that building. The council just doesn't take us seriously."
Not only are tenants feeling as though they aren't being heard, but they have also faced being the subject of a 'tour'.
"A few years ago during the Fringe, people were running tours of the building to show you the ‘smack whores’ and things. It was a Trainspotting based kind of tour," Kirsty remarked.
"It was really horrific language, and people were staring and pointing. The council stepped in and put a stop to it. We’ve not had that since. It was like being in a zoo.
"The thing is people do live here with drug addictions and poor mental health, and it is harder for tenants to get support because we live here. People here are overlooked and dismissed.
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"We’re not considered valuable members of society."
Kirsty feels one of the biggest issues for tenants at the moment is communication.
"People in the building aren’t told anything," She told us.
"We have a significant issue with them communicating things. We’ve raised issues at meetings that never get solved.
"Easy things like having more bins. We want the council to take accountability for their failures with the building."
One of the issues residents said plagued the Banana Flats for significant time was their lifts. During Covid, they said only one of four lifts was functioning - which caused major problems for families, disabled and older people in the building.
Kirsty added: "The queues were outrageous, with everyone trying to leave at the same time in the morning.
"We raised it several times and the council did nothing. We had to argue with them.
"We won the fight just before Christmas. I just don’t understand why they’re spending money on this building and aren’t fixing something like the lifts.
"They just don’t tell us what they’re going to do with the building. They don’t tell us why the lifts are broken.
"People only know things because members of the residents group are passing it on. We’ve been asking for four years for a simple newsletter to residents, that says what they’re going to do with the building. It wouldn’t take much of someone's time."
The Cables Wynd House Residents Group not only want to raise issues with repairs, pests and mould but highlight the truth of the building - and move on from the perceptions of people who live there.
Kirsty said: "It’s just a fabulous space, and the kids play in the building - it’s nothing like it’s reputation. We’ve had fun days across the road with bouncy castles and everything.
"There are families here with three generations in the building. There’s quite a few of them, there is a real community feel.
"There’s a lot of people in this building, we have people from all faiths and languages. It’s a really culturally mixed building, which you don’t get from our ‘reputation’.
"Yes, we do have tenants who have addiction issues. With Covid, mental health was horrendous - especially with being down to one lift.
"Some tenants with disabilities didn’t even leave the flat because they weren’t sure if they went down that they’d be able to get back up. One woman in a motorised wheelchair was basically stuck in her home for the duration of Covid.
"The kids are terrified of being stuck in the lift, because once they break you have to wait up to an hour to get let out. One of the lifts shakes, it feels like you’re in a rollercoaster. It’s terrifying, you can hear the kids crying sometimes.
"It’s the accountability and communication. Tenants don’t know what’s going on, ever. Tenants need to know that if they report things, they’re not going to be ignored."
Statistics gathered by the Cables Wynd House Residents Group suggest 58 percent of residents have their mental health impacted by uncompleted repairs in 2024. This is up four percent from 2022.
In 2022, 40 percent of tenants who had reported an issue waited longer than two months for it to be fixed. By 2024, this rose to 50 per cent. Kirsty had an issue with mould in her flat, and waited for eight years for it to be fixed.
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While Kirsty is an active member of the Cables Wynd House Residents Group and is fighting for the building as a whole, she knows all too well how the issues with the building can impact someone's life.
"Our physical and mental health is at risk," Kirsty said.
"My physical and mental health both suffer because of the issues in this building. I signed off work in September 2023.
"I worked in the field of violence against women and girls, so it was distressing. It was Covid and things as well.
"It comes up in the report, it’s not uncommon. It’s a huge issue here.
"One tenant who finally got the mould taken care of in her bathroom said her asthma was better within three weeks. There’s always that ‘oh it’s just them’ attitude.
"I think for a lot of people it’s not actually a conscious decision, it's a perception that people just can't seem to shake.
"Years ago the council organised a bike repair course for the young boys in the building. It was cancelled within a week's notice. Would they have done that if it was in Morningside?
"The kids here are regular teenage boys you find everywhere, they were really excited about it. It’s things like that, we have them ripped away from under us all the time.
"There are lots of kids here doing amazing stuff, and we need to celebrate that instead of assuming they’re not worth it. I love my flat, I just wish they invested more in the building."
Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron said: "The Council is committing a significant investment of £69 Million in Cables Wynd House to address the concerns of our tenants, as set out in this report.
"Our commitment to our tenants is to make sure everyone is kept informed about when the works start and importantly, what it means for them. Our priority as a Council and as a landlord must be and is that all our tenants have a safe, comfortable, and well-maintained home."