Residents of fire-hit flats in Polvanie View, Inverness may be facing 18-month wait to get home
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A total of 11 families were “left with nothing” after a blaze ripped through their block in Polvanie View, Inverness on March 31.
A man was shot by armed police in connection with the incident and has since appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of five officers.
Court papers state that he allegedly threw Molotov cocktail style bottles during the incident.
Krzystof Andrusczak (40) also faced charges of wilful fire raising, and possessing two knives and a metal chain.
He is now being detained at the state hospital.
One former resident of the block, who wants to remain anonymous, said they are now living in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).
And Caledonian Housing Association, which owns the block, said it could be 12 to 18 months before affected families are back in their homes, though some residents have said they do not want to return to the scene of the devastating fire.
It is understood that central belt-based Caledonian do not have any other properties in the region which can house the displaced families.
The resident who spoke to the Inverness Courier said: “All the residents are in HMOs.
“They are saying that, because they are a private housing association, they just do not have any houses in Inverness to house us in, because they are all central belt-based.
“It might be 12 months in the HMO.
“I think it’s awful. There must be some way for us to be passed over to the council.
“There’s still talk of us going back to Polvanie View. They are going to try and fix it and put us back in.
“Some of the residents are OK with going back and others are too scared to go back – they just want to move on.”
Affected families received initial financial help from the Scottish Welfare Fund but that support was quickly spent on essential items.
The resident said: “We’ve been left with nothing.
“We were given a grant and we’re grateful for that. But it was £200 each and that just went like that.”
Tim Calderbank, director of customer services at Caledonian, said: “The safety and welfare of our tenants is our priority. We organised emergency accommodation when residents needed to leave the scene immediately.
“The tenants that needed accommodation have now all been moved to appropriate temporary furnished homes.
“We are working with the Highland Council, other registered social landlords and are reviewing our own property availability as a matter of urgency to enable tenants to move into suitable longer-term accommodation while essential structural repair work is undertaken.
“It is difficult at this stage to give exact timescales for the work.
“Obviously, we are doing everything we can, but we are informing tenants it could be 12-18 months before they can move back into their homes at Polvanie View.
“We have staff presence in the locality and they are continually updating and fully supporting our tenants.”
A spokesman for Highland Council said: “Highland Council and the other registered social landlords are looking to assist in the provision of decant properties to Caledonian Housing Association until the tenants can return to their tenancies.
“As tenants, they are able to lodge a transfer request on the Highland Housing Register if they wish and their needs will be assessed per the policy.”
Related articles: Man charged over Polvanie View shooting and fire incident
Polvanie View fire victims faced Royal Mail diversion charges
