Rights campaign results in residents’ victory

Making Rights Real’s work was featured on the Corra Foundation’s website for our work with Cables Wynd House Residents Group. Read the full article below by Mairi Damer:

It can take a long, long time for wrongs to be righted but for the residents of Leith’s so-called Banana Flats, a human rights campaign hastened a multi-million pound commitment from City of Edinburgh Council to bring their long-neglected block of flats into a habitable state.

A group of residents campaigning for improved housing conditions have worked hard to ensure the 2022, £69 million retrofit promises made by the Council actually happen and that they works are fit for purpose. They have also won a significant victory, getting their landlord to replace lifts which break down regularly.

But let’s go back to the beginning. Back in 2018, local community worker Hannah Kirby and her colleagues at Inspiring Leith began working at Cables Wynd House, supporting local people to set up social activities like gardening, zumba and book swaps etc. Over time, trust was built and Hannah and colleagues became increasingly aware that the residents had a common theme – significant issues with their living accommodation. A small group formed Cables Wynd House Residents Group (CWHRG) to start investigating. Problems identified included damp and mould, vermin, broken lifts, poor communication from their landlord, City of Edinburgh Council, and a not-for-for-purpose repairs system. Residents also spoke about anti-social behaviour and stairwells littered with urine and faeces.

From the outset, the CWHRG agreed to demand accountability from City of Edinburgh Council for violation of their legal right to live in decent, safe housing. The group used resident surveys to consolidate their case, the grim findings of which were hard to ignore in the Council’s corridors of power. CWHRG’s robust rights-based approach has influenced how City of Edinburgh Council engage with residents around the long-promised retrofit and has won a significant victory. The group’s powerful delegation to a full Council meeting in June 2024 led to a unanimous decision to replace the erratic lifts, at an additional cost of £750k.

The ripples created by the CWHRG’s rights approach were still being felt in 2025 with the publication of a residents’ report which detailed the numerous violations of their legal rights. Not only did the Council’s then Housing Committee Convener offer a full apology to residents on the national news for breaches of their economic, social and cultural rights, and the residents’ campaign was even reported to a United Nations Committee.

Scoring such a significant victory could not have happened without the commitment of members of the residents’ group, some of whom Hannah Kirby describes as “community powerhouses” – people who have become empowered to both understand their rights and be prepared to fight for them. However, for long-term Cables Wynd resident Allan Mackie, the group should never have had to go into battle with the Council to have had their legal rights met:

“Yes, it is a victory for the residents that we’ve secured a commitment to getting the buildings and the lifts improved, but had the Council not let the whole place to go rack and ruin over a period of more than 20 years they wouldn’t be having to go this vast expense now. The Council have been guilty of sheer negligence, but they’ve also wasted huge amounts of money through shoddy workmanship in the past – for example, poor work basically opened the door for an invasion of mice.”

As a result of their incredible efforts, the CWHRG have earned and expect the respect of the agencies they are working with, but as Lorraine Barrie of Making Rights Real points out:

“This process has been frustrating for the volunteer residents, but incredible bonds have been formed. Members of the group are true human rights defenders- giving up a lot of their time to improve conditions and bring the community together. Residents are the experts and should be listened to- while there have been improvements in communication, there is still a long way to go. They have been living in inadequate housing during austerity and the ongoing cost of living crisis – they’re not asking for a favour, they’re only asking for respect and for their rights to be fulfilled.”

Allan says he will believe the Council’s retrofitting commitment when it actually gets going. As an 81-year-old he also hopes that younger Cables Wynd residents will start to become more involved in standing up for their own rights.

“I’ve done my stint, so it’s time for younger people to step up to make sure our rights are upheld. Sadly, it seems that many people don’t want to get involved, a lot of newer residents keep themselves to themselves. But if we simply can’t ever let issues go unchallenged again, nothing changes unless people join forces.”

Cables Wynd House youngsters are now rising to this challenge. A group of around 12 school pupils are now learning about children’s rights at their YMCA Edinburgh group. The negative impact of delay in repairs is even more apparent when talking to the children- some of them have been stuck in a broken lifts for hours, with one youngster missing their own holy communion as a result. As one young person said:

“If we have human rights, why is it okay for the problems to last so long?”

That a group of Leith residents did join forces to score such a significant victory surely speaks volumes about the enduring potential of people power.

Click here to access the full article on the Corra Foundation’s website.