ANGRY residents have slammed plans which they think will isolate their village for eight weeks.
Shocked villagers say their lives will be in upheaval when part of Seabegs Road in Allandale closes on Sunday to let Scottish Water,
Scottish Gas and Falkirk Council carry out maintenance work.
It will mean that traffic will not be able to acces
s Bonnybridge via the B816 from Allandale and vice versa.
Last week, The Falkirk Herald reported that local shopkeeper Margaret Craig feared she would have to close because of the loss of passing trade.
Now outraged villagers have filled pages of a comments book at her grocery shop to express their fears.
Sam Hughes said: "The people of the village are no strangers to disruption of water, gas and electricity services and I am sure we'll welcome the upgrade, however such drastic action as to isolate the village for eight weeks is completely unacceptable.
"We've been told there's going to be a shuttle bus, but what about emergencies?
"There's been no guarantee the emergency services are going to be able to get through."
Seabegs Road will close between the junction with Broomhill Road to 300 metres west of the junction with Greenhill Road to let Scottish Water and Scottish Gas renew pipes and allow Falkirk Council to resurface the road.
And, with long diversions round the A80 being put in place, residents are facing higher fuel bills and longer in their cars and buses to get to work.
MSP Michael Matheson said: "This is going to cause considerable inconvenience for Allandale residents and a number of businesses which depend on passing trade.
"I would like the local residents and businesses to have a single point of contact with those doing the work and also for compensation claims from local businesses to be dealt with as quickly and as sympathetically as possible."
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: "Scottish Water's mains renewal project has been timed to coincide with work that Falkirk Council and Scottish Gas are also carrying out on Seabegs Road.
"The road is closed for a total of eight weeks to facilitate all three companies' projects.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers while this essential mains renewal work is carried out."
The free shuttle service will be operated by Bryans Coaches and timetables will be posted at bus stops and on the council's website, www.falkirk.gov.uk
Scottish Water can be reached on 0845 601 8855, while Scottish Gas Network Customer Service Centre can be contacted on 0845 0701432. For shuttle bus queries, call (01324) 504853.
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