Elderly people have been falling over on a steep slope in Perth because the handrail has been broken for months.
Pedestrians navigating Lochie Brae have tumbled to the ground because the rail isn’t secure enough to support them.
City centre councillor Peter Barrett has now demanded urgent action following weeks of “dither and delay” on the part of Perth and Kinross Council.
The Liberal Democrat councillor said the local authority’s handling of the matter had been “shambolic”.
And he claims the issue has been ignored for five months.
‘This sorry saga must be brought to an end’
Mr Barrett is concerned that the rail may break off entirely unless urgent action is taken.
“The council must get a move on with fixing the rail,” he said.
“It has been five months since this matter was raised but the rail is still dangling off the wall and lying in bits on the pavement.
“More of the rail has fallen off this week and I am concerned the whole thing might come down before the council gets round to fixing it.
The handling of the repair has been and continues to be shambolic.”
Councillor Peter Barrett.
“I have had reports of elderly pedestrians suffering falls because they thought the rail would support them only for it to give way.
He added: “The problem is entirely of the council’s making as they never enforced the reinstatement of the safety rail after an access was created for a new house on the brae.
“The handling of the repair has been and continues to be shambolic.
“This sorry saga must be brought to an end and the rail fixed without further delays.”
What did Perth and Kinross Council say?
In response to the concerns, Perth and Kinross Council said the repairs needed were bigger than initially thought.
A spokesperson said: “We had originally issued plans for a repair to the damaged section of the handrail to a local contractor.
“However, once we received reports of further damage we carried out another inspection which unfortunately determined the entire length of handrail should be replaced.
“As such, this is a larger and more expensive project which will take a longer time to complete.
We are currently procuring a contractor and will be able to confirm a timescale for the works once this has been finalised.”
They added: “The wall will be reinstated and new posts to support the handrail will be installed. A road closure may be necessary due to the scale of the works.”
