Collapse fears for city residents

Residents will have to leave Moredun Park

People living in more than 50 Edinburgh houses are being moved out of their homes amid fears that they could be sinking.

The residents in the Moredun Park area of south Edinburgh have less than a week to quit their flats for temporary accommodation after concerns were raised about the state of the ground.

Investigations have revealed that the underground conditions are similar to those that led to severe subsidence last autumn in nearby Ferniehill, forcing dozens of people out of their homes.

More than 30 houses collapsed after the problem came to light in the Gilmour area in November.

The people of Edinburgh are entitled to know whether decisions taken in the Sixties when the houses were built were reasonable or not

Council leader Donald Anderson

Investigators blamed old quarry workings, which were filled in and reclaimed several decades ago, for the Ferniehill subsidence.

Now consulting engineers ARUP Scotland have told the council they believe ground conditions in Moredun Park are similar to those in Ferniehill Terrace.

Edinburgh City Council officials are already offering help to the residents in the three blocks of flats, who range from families to pensioners.

Most of the 54 homes are let to council tenants, while the remainder are owner-occupied.

Some of the 150 residents have voiced shock, but others said they had been fearing the worst after what happened at Ferniehill.

The council called in a team of engineers

Council leader Donald Anderson said the first concern had to be public safety.

"Although there has been no ground movement recorded in the Moredun Park area, the council is acting on new information which suggests that ground conditions may be similar to those existing in Ferniehill before the collapse," he said.

He urged residents to help by passing on local knowledge to the investigation team.

And he said the issue of whether houses should have been built so close to the former quarry would be looked into.

"The people of Edinburgh are entitled to know whether decisions taken in the Sixties when the houses were built were reasonable or not," he said.

"It is important that full and accurate facts are established as soon as possible to benefit everyone involved."