Elderly residents of a sheltered housing block in Edinburgh say they are being cut off from their communities by a cobbled access lane, which is challenging to navigate and has resulted in injuries to several residents.
The cobbled lane – which passes under a pend archway and comes out onto St Bernard’s Row – is uneven in places and makes any journey into or out of Veitch’s Square uncomfortable for mobility scooter users or Zimmer frame users.
As the road is private and unadopted by the council, the city’s transport chiefs cannot intervene without issuing a statutory order to landlords or adopting the road.
The sheltered housing facility’s owners, Hanover Housing, carried out improvement works to the pend in 2023 by repairing and re-pointing a one-metre-wide central section of the cobbled surface, which they say reduced trip hazards as far as “reasonably practicable”.
Residents, however, asserted that the repairs have had little impact, and that the changes have merely added a noticeable hump to the middle of the road.
Norman Watts MBE, 86, uses a walker, and he finds the cobbled road challenging. He said: “You have to learn how to navigate it, but it shouldn’t be like that.”
“Put it this way, if I buy eggs, I don’t come this way,” he added.
Mary Clair, 86, who has lived at the Veitch’s Square houses in Stockbridge for several years, was left with a severe facial injury which she has been warned will never fully heal after taking a fall on the cobbles in October last year.
Another resident, who has since passed away, took a serious fall on the cobbles and had to be rushed to hospital.
Discussing the injury, Mary said: “It was really strange, because I’m normally laden with shopping, but this time I had nothing in my hands at all.
“I was wearing flat shoes – as I always do – and I was just walking, and all of a sudden my heel just went, and of course that just threw me completely, and I tried to protect myself, but before I could get my hands out, my head had hit the ground – and I remember hearing the crack.
“It really was a terrible mess.”
Sonia Haugh, 79, added: “I went up to the surgery with Mary, because she was so, so badly damaged facially and weeping, as she says, but also in that situation, you don’t want to be going into surgery alone.”
David Easter, 78, another resident and self-proclaimed “poet and raconteur”, took a cynical view: “My worry is that with Mary’s very serious accident, somebody will die before Hanover or the council or whoever will step up to the plate.
“People have been badly injured, as we’ve said, almost to the point of death.
“My own cynical feeling is that somebody’s got to die before they take it seriously, and that’s too late for the person who’s just snuffed it in the pend.”
The lane is partially owned by the landlords of tenement flats above the archway and Hanover Housing, but most of these landlords are absent much of the time and difficult to contact.
The owners of the sheltered housing block, Hanover Housing, have been sympathetic to the concerns of residents and “made good noises”, but have ultimately deferred responsibility for repairs and street layout changes to the tenement landlords and the council.
There are also concerns that, as the pend forms part of a historic cobbled street in a conservation area, any planning application to change the street would be rejected.
Haugh Street also provides access to the facility, and the pavement on the corner was recently widened by the council.
However, as part of the pavement widening, a new traffic light was placed in the middle of the corner between Haugh’s Place and the main road, restricting the space to turn, and often forcing people using mobility scooters onto the road when rounding the corner.
Residents say the council could issue a statutory notice to landlords, requiring them to pay for accessibility changes and repairs through the pend.
According to SNP councillor Vicky Nicolson, a site visit from council officers after a request to do exactly that proved fruitless, as the road was assessed to be in “fair condition”.
Officers added that “the authority does not have the resources or budget to undertake significant repairs on private property”.
In a statement, Nicolson – who represents the Inverleith ward at the council – expressed her frustration at the lack of progress on Veitch’s Square: “For years, the uneven cobblestones at The Pend in Stockbridge have cut off residents of Veitch’s Square Sheltered Housing from their own community.
“This hazardous path is a constant barrier, preventing elderly neighbours from safely leaving their homes.
“Since 2022, I have worked closely with residents and former MSP Angus Robertson to secure a fix.
“Frustratingly, every attempt has been blocked by bureaucratic buck-passing over path ownership and a lack of willingness from the responsible organisations.”
She added: “The wonderful individuals living here are not asking for much. They simply want to travel independently and safely to the local shops, the chemist, the bus stop and their GP without fear of falling.
“It is time for the relevant authorities to stop hiding behind red tape, take responsibility, and finally deliver a sensible, lasting solution.”
Former cabinet secretary and MSP for the area, Angus Robertson, attempted to “pull levers” from his end to have the issue fixed, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Responding, The City of Edinburgh Council said that they would assess their options, but they were limited because of the road’s unadopted status.
Transport and Environment Convener, Cllr Stephen Jenkinson, said:
“I have great sympathy for these residents. However, as this road is unadopted, we’re limited in terms of the action we can take. We’ll look again into what options are available to us and potential mitigations for those using this road.
“In terms of improvements in the local area, we’ve widened the footway on Haugh Street to create more space for pedestrians.
“We’ll continue to work across the city to make sure it is as safe and accessible as possible for everyone.”
Complaints have also been levelled by residents about what they see as a slippage in the standard of care offered by Hanover Housing, and a dereliction of duty from those higher-up at the development.
A spokesperson for Hanover Scotland said: “The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our highest priority and we take any concerns raised about access to Veitch’s Square very seriously.
“We have listened carefully to residents’ concerns over a number of years and have taken proactive steps where we have been able to do so.
“In 2023, following discussions with the City of Edinburgh Council’s Planning Department, Hanover carried out improvement works to the pend by repairing and re-pointing a one-metre-wide central section of the cobbled surface using strengthened epoxy cement to reduce trip hazards as far as reasonably practicable.
“These works were undertaken following consultation with residents and neighbouring properties.”
David Easter is third from the left.
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