Residents still out of homes nearly three years after Baberton explosion

A group of residents of an Edinburgh street are still waiting to return to their homes nearly three years after a gas explosion destroyed two houses and forced the evacuation of others.

The explosion happened on 1 December 2023 on Baberton Mains Avenue in Edinburgh. James Smith, 84, was killed in the blast and two others were taken to hospital.

Gary Taylor, who lived a few houses down, was not injured but has been out of his home since.

He has told BBC Scotland residents of the street have been treated with "no sympathy or empathy" since the incident.

He said: "I cannot for the life of me understand why it has taken this long and we've not had an explanation from anyone.

"Most of us are retired and it's no fun being out of your home at this stage in your life."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concluded the explosion was caused by an internal property gas installation.

Two houses were destroyed in the blast and six homes in total had to be knocked down and rebuilt.

Taylor said the patio doors of his house were blown off their runners as a result of the blast and there were splits in the ceilings.

Along with his wife Norma, he stayed with friends in the days following the explosion before being given temporary accommodation in a bed and breakfast -where they have been staying since.

They hope to return home in the coming weeks, although the return date has been pushed back.

He added: "It was supposed to be the end of September we were getting in, now it's the end of October. It wouldn't surprise me if it dragged onto November."

The Taylors are looking forward to getting back to their own place.

"Getting back to our own home, that nobody can take away from us. We're going to sit with a bottle of wine and have a good greet," he said.

Taylor said he felt side-lined by the council and insurance companies during negotiations on who was liable for the cost of the rebuild, a system he would like to see made smoother in the future.

He said: "They forgot the human aspect. The council and loss adjusters should have had more cooperation. They never worked well together together.

"I would ask them to have a look in the mirror and think 'could we have done better here?'."

Councillor Joan Griffiths, planning convenor of City of Edinburgh Council, said the authority has worked closely with residents and provided them with support throughout the process.

She said: "These are private properties and, once the council's role to ensure public safety was complete, we handed the site over to the residents and their insurance companies who took the lead in providing temporary accommodation and engaging with owners over future settlement or rebuilding properties."