Gorgie and Dalry
Shared water in Gorgie and Dalry flats
In a Gorgie tenement or a Dalry colony flat, the supply pipe and any tank serving several homes are normally shared, so neighbours decide on repairs together under their deeds.
By the Pipes Up the Stair site team · how pages are checked · Updated
The Dalry Colonies were built for railway workers, and the council's records say an unusual amount about how they were plumbed. Away from the colonies, the planning rules matter less than the everyday rules on who shares which pipe.
Is Gorgie or Dalry a conservation area?
Parts of it. The council's A to Z of conservation areas has no Gorgie entry, but it does list a Dalry colonies conservation area and the Slateford (Flowers) colonies. The Colonies character appraisal places the Flower Colonies "due South of Gorgie", built between 1878 and 1883, where the outside stair gave way to an internal one.
What is special about the Dalry Colonies?
They were built as shared houses from the start. The appraisal says the Dalry Colonies, near Haymarket and east of Dalry Road, went up in 1868 and 1870, mainly for Caledonian Railway workers, and are listed at Category B. Each block holds four homes, two up and two down, with the upper pair reached by a forestair.
The detail that matters for plumbing: the first rows were built "in blocks of four flats each sharing one water tank", set in a cavity wall between the two upper flats. Whether any such tank survives in your block is something only a look, or your deeds, will tell you.
Who pays for a tank or pipe that several flats use?
All the flats it serves, unless the deeds say otherwise. The Tenements Act, section 3(4) names a tank and a pipe among the parts that become common property when they serve two or more flats. Scottish Water says neighbours on a shared supply pipe are jointly responsible for it. For how the Tenement Management Scheme splits the cost, see shared pipes and the Tenements Act.
Can a shared lead pipe be replaced?
Yes, but the answer is usually a pipe of your own. If a supply pipe being replaced serves more than one property, Scottish Water says the owner must lay a new supply pipe that serves only their home, and it may then connect that to the main free of charge. Start with lead pipes in Edinburgh.
Why does the flow drop at busy times?
Older shared pipes are often small. Scottish Water's pressure factsheet says supply pipes in older properties were generally 12.5 mm, often feeding a whole terrace, and that mornings and early evenings are peak times. See low water pressure upstairs and finding your stopcock, since a half-closed stop valve is the first thing to rule out.
What if one owner will not pay?
The council may help, within limits. Its Missing Shares service can consider paying a share of between £500 and £20,000 where the deeds make more than two properties responsible, then recover it. Two-up, two-down colony blocks should check that rule closely; see missing shares.
Where this comes from
- Conservation area A to Z — City of Edinburgh Council directory
- Dalry colonies conservation area — City of Edinburgh Council directory entry
- Colonies conservation area character appraisal — City of Edinburgh Council: Dalry and Flower Colonies, shared tanks
- Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, section 3 — tanks and pipes serving two or more flats
- Your pipes FAQ — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): shared supply
- Lead pipe replacement — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): new supply pipe
- Your water pressure explained — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): 12.5 mm pipes, peak times
- Missing Shares service factsheet — City of Edinburgh Council: £500 to £20,000