Tuesday, June 08, 2010

St Olaf residents support proposals for improved access to the Firhall bridge

Tonight the River Community Council discussed a letter received from St Olaf residents calling for improved access to the Firhall bridge. The letter stated that they felt discriminated against because of the present state of the bridge which deprives them of the chance to fully enjoy the riverside walks in wheelchairs etc. A strong contingent from St Olaf’s were down at the Laing Hall tonight to here the response from the River CC members.
The River CC have been, up to now, the only Community Council in the town not to support Murd Dunbar’s campaign for improved access for all on the Firhall Bridge.
The letter and the visiting residents were given a sympathetic hearing from the River CC but as Murd pointed out the River are still the only Council not to support the proposal. One felt the wind of change in the air however, and this observer feels it is only a matter of time before the River put their full weight behind this initiative. They agreed to go and meet with the St Olaf residents and hear more of their concerns about the lack of disabled access to the bridge. Now that the River CC is seeking funds to upgrade the path from the Firhall Bridge to the Howford then surely ramps on at Firhall will become even more of a necessity.
Murd also revealed tonight that someone in Highland Council had told him that the work to remove the redundant pipe was being progressed by the HAPS (Housing and Property Services?) and ‘timescales’ would soon be provided.

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