Rail bosses move eyesore platform
Network Rail have relocated a platform which was blocking a disabled Causewayhead woman’s view of Stirling Castle.
The Observer reported last Wednesday that the structure appeared on the railway line outside Pamela Maxwell’s Brown Avenue home, obscuring her view of the famous landmark.
The 51-year-old said the platform, used by rail workers to work on the overhead lines, was put in place without warning.
Mrs Maxwell, who shares the family home with husband John and sons Ranald, 15, and Cameron, 18, added: “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.”
After the story appeared in last Wednesday’s Observer the rail operator contacted Mrs Maxwell and the structure was moved. It is understood to now be located near Stirling County RFC.
Mrs Maxwell said: “Someone from Network Rail came to the house and they were very nice about it.
“I’m just glad that it has now been moved to an area where it won’t bother anyone and I’m happy to have our view of the castle back.”
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, which reopened to traffic on Friday.
Work to electrify the StirlingDunblane-Alloa line started in November 2016 and electric trains are due to start running by December.
In August the Observer reported that Network Rail was being urged to remove a steel pylon which was erected just yards from an elderly resident’s living room window in Cowie.
Nancy Marshall, 84, said the 20–foot structure was erected just yards from her living room window.
The large metal stanchion, constructed to hold the overhead cables, was built overnight near the property in Station Road.