RESIDENTS of flats that host one of Glasgow’s most famous pieces of public art have been hit with a repairs bill of a quarter of a million pounds.

Owners at Malta Terrace, part of the New Gorbals development housing The Gatekeeper and The Attendant art works, have been told their roof must be completely replaced.

But a report shows the building, which is just 20 years old, was tiled with Spanish slates that are unsuitable for use in a Scottish climate.

Residents say the block has been plagued by the need for repeated roof repairs – and claim factors should have picked up on the problem sooner.

Owner Frank Cameron said: “The building is well known as a major part of the development of the Gorbals and was hailed at the time as a major step in the regeneration of the area with public money spent here.

“But for years we have been getting repairs done on our roof, at the rate of more than once a year. Now we have been told that the slates that are on our roof should never have been there in the first place.

“Someone should be accountable for that. This has been very stressful and we are all shattered.”

Residents were told last year that the roof would need to be replaced and have been in discussions with factor New Gorbals Housing Association (NGHA) about the issue.

But they say the factor has handled the situation badly and left them with a £6500 bill for each of the 40 flats on the terrace.

James Lithgow, another resident, said: “The building is only 20 years old and yet we’re told the roof is crumbling – the words from the builder who inspected the roof were that the tiles are like biscuits.

“I find it very strange that over the years we have had multiple workmen up walking on the roof and no one has reported this back to the factor.

“We are in the middle of a pandemic and due to that we have not been able to have face-to-face meetings with the housing association.

“This feels very rushed and there are so many things about the situation that don’t make sense to me.”

New Gorbals HA said it understood the “frustration” of residents but said it was not involved in the building of the flats.

It pointed to a line in an independent assessment of the roof, which reads: “A lack of appropriate maintenance would be the usual cause of distress, however there has been storm damage related roof repairs over substantial areas in the past and the current problems are not due to a lack of maintenance.”

The assessment also clearly states the original slate used by the builder was not fit for purpose.

At a vote, 21 out of 40 households opted to go ahead with repairs.

But some said they felt they had no other choice.

A top floor resident, who asked not to be named, said his flat has damp in the ceiling and regularly has water coming in.

He said: “One of our neighbours has had seven repairs done in a short space of time and I’m now coming home from work on rainy nights and going up to the roof space with a torch to see if any water is coming in.

“Another neighbour on the top floor told us that when they had repairs done the builders said to him, ‘That roof is a mess, it is not going to last,’ so why wasn’t something done sooner?

“When we got the letters from NGHA to say the roof would need to be entirely replaced we thought, ‘That can’t be right, the building is only 20 years old’.

“We want to know where this has gone wrong. Why were these unsuitable tiles used on the building?

“Surely in the original build someone has been negligent?

“We had no option but to vote ‘yes’ for the repairs because they do need done but the factors should be chasing this up on our behalf to find out who is responsible. We have looked into taking legal action but it would just be too expensive.”

The flats were built 20 years ago by Tay Homes, which was bought over in 2001 by Redrow Scotland Ltd. This, in turn, was bought over by Springfield Properties.

Malta Terrace is part of the Crown Street Regeneration Scheme, the site of the 20-metre tall art installation The Gatekeeper, and along the terrace are the sculptures of women’s heads, named The Attendant.

Another top floor resident added: “We pay money regularly into a fund that is used for common repairs. The housing association used this money to for common paint work for the close, railings and doors.

“It is really galling to think that they must have known major roof repairs were needed yet we weren’t given the option of using that money towards the roof, rather £6000 was spent on painting that we could have done without.

“We have also been told the insurance company refused to insure us for the roof any longer because so many claims had been put in. Why weren’t alarm bells going off then?

“Obviously the roof does need to be done but the housing association has dealt with it so badly, not dealing with the residents with any sympathy.”

A spokeswoman for the association said: “We understand how frustrating this is for residents, and realise that this is a significant expense for homeowners. For such a significant job, we as factor can only act on decisions that have been agreed at a formal homeowners meeting. This includes the timeline of the replacement project.”