NORTH Ayrshire Council have been publicly lambasted over their consultation of the high flats in Saltcoats.

Last month North Ayrshire Council revealed plans that could see all of their high rises pulled down but the blocks in Saltcoats were also included in an option which would see them remain but have a sprinkler system installed.

Now the consultation period is underway with residents in Saltcoats and Irvine but this has been described as a ‘complete miss-mash’.

The consultation document is a one sided A4 document in which residents have to tick a box for their preferred option of retaining the flats or agreeing to their demolition - but there is no mention of the option to knock down the Irvine flats and keep Saltcoats.

George Lafferty, who is a resident of the Saltcoats flats and a member of Saltcoats Community Council, brought up the issue at Monday’s meeting of SCC and blasted the council for their handling of the affair so far.

George said: “The North Ayrshire Consultation is a one-page A4 form - you tick a box and send it back. We then got a visit face-to-face.”

It has become unclear to many residents what will actually happen if they take the retain option with George saying it was a complete ‘miss-mash’ with some residents being told that North Ayrshire Council would pay for everything, some being told that everyone would be taken out at the same time and some being told that the council would give £20 per room for re-decorating once work was finished.

George added: “We have no faith in North Ayrshire Council whatsoever, not the councillors but the people who are supposed to be specialists and they have proved this time and time again.

“The tenants and residents have lost all confidence in the council and they came to me to raise it with the Community Council.”

The consultation is set to finish on May 1 but the Community Council have asked for a meeting with council officials to relay fears that they have along with residents and tenants.

George told Monday’s meeting: “There are people who are worried sick and ill. They have nobody to confide in apart from their carer who comes in to make them a cup of tea.”

Saltcoats’ flats are in a different position to those in Irvine as a number of them are owned and not rented but George believes the saga has made them unsellable.

He said: “This has reduced the value of the flats to zilch. Nobody wants one.”

Cllrs McClung, McNicol and Sweeney were present at the Community Council meeting and said that they would request a meeting for tenants and residents following the information received.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “We believe that the ambitious proposals represent a real chance to improve the lives of our residents due to the clear links between better housing and better health.

“Whether we ultimately agree to launch an improvements programme in the tower blocks or demolish and replace them with high-quality, energy efficient homes, we want the residents to make their voices heard.

“That’s why we are undertaking a comprehensive consultation exercise in an effort to speak to the 369 households across the five tower blocks in Irvine and two in Saltcoats.

“The views of the residents will play an important role as we look at all possibilities for our high flats, and we have been very encouraged by the feedback we have received so far.

“The consultation has allowed us to seek tenants’ views and to allow them to ask us questions. While staff will always seek to give an answer to those enquiries, it is not possible to answer every single question straight away.

“We appreciate that the consultation involves consideration of a significant amount of information, and our staff have endeavoured to convey that information to residents as clearly as possible.

“Officers are happy to meet again with residents, individually or as a group, to provide any additional clarity required. Residents are encouraged to use the details on their consultation correspondence to contact us to arrange this.

“We would like to thank those who have participated so far and look forward to continuing to meet with residents. To ensure that there is no long-term uncertainty, we expect to draw up a report for Cabinet this summer.”