Helensburgh couple say street closure will 'trap us in our home'

PLANS to close a quiet Helensburgh street for five days later this month will put residents’ safety at risk, it has been claimed.

People living in the Redgauntlet Road cul-de-sac in Colgrain have been told that no cars will be allowed to use the street from January 13-17 because of drainage work.

But the chairman of the local residents’ association says the closure will leave him and his wife Joan “literally marooned” in their home.

Argyll and Bute Council has written to residents advising them that the work is needed in connection with the building of new houses on part of the former Hermitage Academy site nearby.

But John Scullion, who is registered disabled, says the closure will trap him in his home – and will make it difficult, if not impossible, for the emergency services to get access to houses in the street if required.

He said: “We’ll be literally marooned. If something serious were to happen there’s no way we could get out of here.

“If they block off the street, and there’s an emergency while it is closed, we’ve had it.”

In a letter to the local authority, and the area’s councillors, which has also been sent to the Advertiser, Mr Scullion said: “I am disabled, I have wheelchair ramps outside my home and I need my car at various times during the day and evening and refuse to be confined to my home to cater for what I consider, the inconsiderate and profit driven greed of both the council and Taylor Wimpey.

“I cannot park my car(s) anywhere else but outside my home. I have more than one car in case of faults or if one requires service.

“Therefore, there is more than one car parked at my house to ensure I have mobility, and to blatantly refuse me this is denying me my human rights to go about my daily business freely.”

Permission for the building of four houses near to Redgauntlet Road was granted by Argyll and Bute Council in May 2018, despite 22 objections.

The homes, being built by Taylor Wimpey West Scotland, are in addition to the 95 properties on the main part of the former Academy site being built by the same firm, permission for which was granted in November 2016.

Mr Scullion continued: “This is the first indication that we have had of this closure, which it is to do with the construction of four houses in addition to the main TW development on the site of the former Hermitage Academy.

“The letter to residents says that ‘local access will be provided to affected properties where possible’ and that we should approach staff to help.

“In the event of a serious fire on our street, and the road being blocked, how are we, and especially people with mobility problems, supposed to escape?

“There is no escape route; we are locked in a cul de sac surrounded by a building site.

“In the event of a medical emergency, is it really realistic to ask an ambulance to park up the street and try and come down the slope in our street in the middle of January, a time when we have had serious snow problems in the past, to treat a casualty who may then have to be carried back up the street?

“Gritters seldom visit our street in winter as they often get stuck at the bottom. Are the council really suggesting that in those weather conditions, I or any other resident should try and walk up the street to get to our cars?”

“I would suggest that all parties involved in this closure reconsider their plans.”

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “A temporary traffic regulation order has been issued to enable the contractors to carry out improved drainage works, and is in compliance with the Code of Practice, Safety at Street Works and Roads Works.

“As stated in the letter, local access will be provided to properties where possible, if residents ask site staff.”

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