For immediate release

Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey has slammed South Lanarkshire Council after it has finally admitted that residents in Rutherglen may have to wait over a year before their lift is repaired.

Ms Haughey reports that constituents first contacted her in February when the lift in Greenhill Court in Rutherglen had broken down, and that it has taken her over 7 months of regular correspondence to get a full response from the Council about the situation.

The Council have now concluded that due to “substantial and prolonged water ingress” the lift is beyond repair.  In a letter to Ms Haughey, the Council stated said that they estimate that workers will not be on site to replace the lift “until the new financial year” which starts next April – well over a year since the lift first broke down.

Even if some residents are not directly affected themselves, Ms Haughey says that many are finding the lifts in their blocks are busier as a result of the breakdown, and that they are concerned about their state of repair.

Commenting, Clare Haughey said;

“This is altogether a wholly unacceptable situation.  I have had to contact the Council repeatedly throughout the whole of the spring and summer to try to get information – after residents themselves reported struggling to get a straight answer on when the lift would be repaired.

“This is not just an inconvenience – for residents with mobility issues or buggies and prams, this is having a huge impact.  Others have told me about having to lug heavy shopping up the stairs, trek through corridors from one block to another to use other lifts, missing deliveries, or having to carry bulky deliveries like furniture upstairs.

“I appreciate that the Council have now advised there can be a 12-week lead-in time for lift parts, but this does not explain why it will be well over 12 months before work starts.

“From the start, there has been a lack of urgency from the Council – they now need to do the right thing and resolve this situation sooner rather than later”.

ENDS