Cables Wynd House

Cables Wynd House, better known as the Leith Banana Flats [ [http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=700462006 Airgun incident, 2006] ] [ [http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=572162005 Suicide fire, 2005] ] or as the banana block [ [http://download.edinburgh.gov.uk/caca/Leith_CACA.pdf LCACA] (pdf), Leith Conservation Area Character Appraisal, approved 18 April 2002 ( [http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:IcaH43QRoP4J:download.edinburgh.gov.uk/caca/Leith_CACA.pdf+%22Cables+Wynd+House%22+Leith+banana&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&client=safari Google html] )] because of its curved shape, is a 9-storey local authority housing block in Leith, Edinburgh.

It was first occupied in 1962, and for many families offered a welcome improvement over the overcrowding and slum housing conditions that were still common problems at the time. [ [http://www.rls.org.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-001-233-L Record View] ]

It contains 204 flats, which have a 24 hour concierge service and CCTV coverage. Most of the properties use deck access, but the ground floor flats are accessed via individual front doors. These properties are preferentially allocated to older people. All but two of the flats remain in public ownership as of 2006. In Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (novel), the flats were the childhood home of the character Sick Boy.

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Nick-named The Square