Company face criticism
A disabled Causewayhead woman has hit out after a platform erected during rail electrification work blocked her view of Stirling Castle.
Pamela Maxwell says the new fixture was put in place without any warning and has restricted her view of the iconic city landmark from her home in Brown Avenue.
Work has been ongoing on the stretch of railway through Stirling as Network Rail electrifies the line. It has also included the demolition and replacement of the Kerse Road Bridge.
Mrs Maxwell, 51, suffers from multiple sclerosis and requires a wheelchair. She is unable to work as a result of the condition she has had for more than 30 years.
Mrs Maxwell shares the family home with husband John and sons Ranald, 15, and Cameron,18.
The platform was erected and now looms over the back garden of the property, at the nearby rail line.
She said: “They put up the platform and it is restricting our view of the castle.
“We bought the house 18 years ago and one of the main selling points was the view we had of the castle – now we can’t see it.
“We were planning on building an extension to the house in the garden and that would have been our living room. We have planning permission for it already. It was going to be all glass but this platform would sit right outside the window blocking the view.
“There was no consultation with us that they were going to put it up.
“I had called Network Rail to complain about it and they said that they would send someone out to take a look, but nobody has shown up.
“I just can’t believe how they would do this without letting us know.”
Mrs Maxwell said she had been told that the platform would be a permanent fixture.
Work to electrify the Stirling – Dunblane – Alloa line started in November 2016 with electrified trains scheduled on routes between Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa and Edinburgh/Glasgow by December.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are liaising directly with the residents regarding their concerns and are assessing if we can move the new equipment.”
In August, the Observer reported how the rail operator was being urged to remove a steel powerline support that was erected just yards from an elderly resident’s living room window in Cowie.
Nancy Marshall, 84, was shocked to awake one morning and discover the 20–foot structure looming above her property. The large metal stanchion, constructed to hold the overhead cables, was built overnight near the property in Station Road.