By Jennifer Cosgrove

A 95-YEAR-OLD Dundee war veteran, who has been fighting for months to install a scooter ramp at his council house, will have to seek charitable funding to fulfil his wish.

Old soldier Alexander Ramsay has lived in his Kirkton home for the last 61 years and for nine months has been asking Dundee City Council for help to adapt his garden in order to accommodate a motorised scooter.

Since The Courier first highlighted Mr Ramsay’s plight, the council has gone from being reluctant to help the veteran to assessing his home for the suitability of a ramp.

The council maintains Mr Ramsay does not qualify for funding due to not being sufficiently disabled and finally said yesterday that he would have to raise the cash through charities.

Mr Ramsay, wounded in the second world war and with two artificial knees and arthritis in the hips, is happy to buy an electric scooter himself, but requires financial help for the work, estimated to cost around £9000.

Council officers have visited his home to discuss options in a bid to help him. The initial option of a ramp was estimated to cost around £10,000, but design and planning requirements indicated the garden was too steep.

The alternative was installing an external storage shed with a power supply, levelling ground with a retaining wall and new gate arrangement, estimated to cost £9000.

A local charity, the Dundee Independent Living Centre in Charles Bowman Avenue, has offered to contribute up to £5000 towards the cost of the work, providing Mr Ramsay attends the centre to assess his ability to use a scooter successfully.

He said last night, “It’s taken nine months for me to get to this stage, so I’m hoping it will all be over soon.

“I’ll try and get along there [the centre] and see what happens, although I’m not sure how I’ll travel up at this stage.

“Since the story appeared in the paper, my neighbours have been helping me.”

He added, “I’ve got a scooter waiting for me at Allardyce Healthcare. The staff there have been very helpful.”

The council has also said it is willing to help Mr Ramsay submit other grant applications to raise the balance of the funds and has advised that, if he wished, he could arrange for his own contractor to undertake the work and the contribution from the charity would still be made available.

A council spokesperson said, “The council has previously indicated that there were technical issues about the installation of a ramp and this has proved to be the case.

“Although Mr Ramsay unfortunately does not qualify for financial support from the council, we have, in a short period of time, helped him with a full investigation into the technical issues and costs of the work required and found a source of funding for a substantial proportion of the cost.

“Hopefully other charities can provide the remaining funding and council officers will help Mr Ramsay obtain the necessary consents to undertake the work.”

Independent councillor Ian Borthwick, who has helped Mr Ramsay with the matter since January, said the news was a step in the right direction.

“I’m confident future funding will be secured,” he said. “In the past fortnight, the council has carried out a proper survey and assessment and this is to be welcomed.

“I sincerely hope the installation will not be long delayed and offer my continued support to Mr Ramsay.”