Falkirk lift woes getting residents down

Elderly residents have been stranded in their homes for over five weeks after a lift broke down in a multi-storey block of flats.
Elderly residents in Glenbrae Court have been without one lift for over five weeks
Picture: Michael GillenElderly residents in Glenbrae Court have been without one lift for over five weeks
Picture: Michael Gillen
Elderly residents in Glenbrae Court have been without one lift for over five weeks Picture: Michael Gillen

The fed-up high livers in Glenbrae Court, Falkirk, have been forced to walk up or down one floor to use the other lift in the building.

But for some living in the sheltered housing complex mobility problems mean they are unable to make the stairs and they have been stuck in their homes since the lift broke down on January 11.

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The block in Kemper Avenue overlooking Callendar Park houses 28 one-bedroom flats and 56 two-bedroom homes and is classed by landlord Falkirk Council as “housing with care” offering lifts and a warden service.

One disgruntled resident said: “Is it that we are so advanced in modern technology that we cannot find spare parts or is there not an engineer who can make such a piece of machinery today?

“If we can keep Spitfires flying, can we not keep lifts working?”

This week the local authority admitted that the problem had been sourcing a part to carry out the repair and apologised for the delay.

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A council spokesperson said: “We have been unable to source the part to carry out this urgent repair as the manufacturer is no longer in business. The specialist part is now being made from scratch by another company.

“We apologise for the delay and the inconvenience this may have caused residents of Glenbrae Court. We expect the part to be delivered this week and it will be fitted immediately.”

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