Monday February 2nd 2026
RAAC UK campaigner Kerry Macintosh
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Ghost estate campaigner Kerry Macintosh has featured on a Radio 4 news documentary about homeowners fighting for justice over crumbling concrete in their homes.
The programme “Currently: RAAC and Ruin” was first broadcast yesterday and will be rebroadcast this afternoon (Monday) at 4pm on Radio 4.
Kerry was interviewed by Karin Goodwin as part of the programme. She told of her 20 year fight for a new home in Livingston, first highlighted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Kerry, who first described life on the ghost estate that was Deans South to the LDRS during the Covid pandemic in August 2020 told the programme it was “like living in a cave, with one light.”
The programme also visited towns in Scotland which have since revealed large numbers of RAAC affected council owned, and bought homes, including Dundee, Aberdeen and Tillicoultry. The programme revealed that the problems with RAAC were known in Dundee in the 1970s.
Many of the RAAC affected houses were sold during the right to buy scheme introduced by the Conservative government in the early 1980s. In many cases the homeowners – including Kerry – bought their home after that initial sale.
An architect, Peter Drummond, told the programme there is no easy way for homeowners affected to find the money for repairs as they cannot borrow against their properties: “They are in an invidious position.”
He added: “There is no doubt that we have to find a way of helping these people. This wasn’t their fault. It’s a systemic failure, building regulations, maintenance, procurement, poor construction. It’s a perfect storm. I can see no other option other than the public purse.”
The Housing Minister Mairi McAllan has pressed for the UK government to meet costs.
Kerry told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “People in Aberdeen are getting the same offers that I did, never more than £40,000. I couldn’t have bought a caravan for what I was offered.”
House builders Springfield Homes eventually delivered a home for a home that Kerry and others had campaigned so long for in Deans South.
She added: “I hope the government was listening. I hope ministers were listening. There’s been mis-selling.”
Kerry said: “There will be more homes in other places that are affected by RAAC. There needs to be a public inquiry, there needs to be justice for people who bought their homes in good faith.”
“We’ll continue to fight for justice. We will continue to campaign for people.”
As one of the homeowners said at the close of the programme: “It’s not just about bricks and mortar it’s about people’s lives.”
The R4 documentary Currently: RAAC and Ruin can be found on BBC Sounds
Tweet Share on Facebook
