Around 200 tenants in Lorne Street, Leith are facing eviction after the charitable trust decided to put their homes up for sale.

Now the Trustees have announced that PoLHA is negotiating the potential acquisition of its remaining property portfolio.

PoLHA will be undertaking a detailed condition survey of the properties over the next two to three months ahead of negotiations over a potential sale of the remaining flats.

In November, the Trustees of the Miss Agnes Hunter Trust extended the moratorium of serving “no fault” notices to quit until 1st July 2016, to allow time to explore the various options that may allow the Trust to sell its properties without having to ask tenants to leave their homes. These include a purchase of the properties by a housing association or by a newly formed tenants’ co-operative.

Miss Agnes Hunter’s Trust is a grant-making Charitable Trust set up by her Will in 1954 with the sole purpose of financially assisting charitable organisations which support health and social welfare in Scotland.

The Trust’s charitable purposes are to make financial grants to registered charities which support people suffering from arthritis and cancer, physical disability and mental health problems or learning disabilities, or which provide youth education and training. Currently grants amount to around £350,000 each year.

The Trust has provided support to a number of charities in Edinburgh active in the fields of cancer, epilepsy, disability and deafness, including several in North Edinburgh and Leith.

The Board of Trustees took the unanimous decision in January 2015 to sell the property portfolio in a rolling programme over the next three to four years.

The decision was taken as for some time the costs of managing and maintaining the property portfolio have been rising as the property has aged and management costs have increased. This has occurred at the same time as the number of applications for grants has been increasing particularly from charities whose statutory funding has been withdrawn or reduced.

In the financial period April 2013 – March 2014 the Trust approved 50 grants with a total value of £331,683. In the same financial period the expenses of managing and maintaining the property portfolio, which provides most of the Trust’s income, rose to £424,450.

The Trustees considered that their primary obligation under charity law was to make as generous grants as possible and to ensure that the income of the Trust was maximised to this end, but adopting an approach which would seek to minimise the effect on tenants.

Commenting on the announcement, Walter Thomson, chairman of the Trustees of the Miss Agnes Hunter Trust, said: “The Trustees are acutely aware that it is real people and families that will affected by any decision and look forward to working with PoLHA with a view to finding a possible solution that could satisfy all parties involved.”

Keith Anderson, chief executive of PoLHA, said: “As the main provider of affordable housing in Leith, the Association is very pleased to be working with the Trust and with the Lorne Community Association to investigate a solution to retaining these homes for affordable rent in the long term.”

Cllr Cammy Day, vice-convenor of City of Edinburgh Council’s health, social care and housing committee, added: “I’m really pleased to see the Agnes Hunter Trust working with Port of Leith Housing Association to negotiate a potential buy out of the remaining properties, and allowing tenants to remain in their homes and in their community. The efforts of the tenants in working with the council, Trustees and housing associations is to be commended. In addition to this we will continue to support the option of a local co-operative with tenants.”

@PortofLeithHA