The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Eddie and his team pull out all the stops to dig out Dales
ADundee property developer and his team have pulled out all the stops to dig a community out of the snow.
Eddie Wighton and his crew from Invertay Homes are building homes on the site of the former St Margaret’s Primary School in Nithsdale Avenue, in the Dales area of the city.
When snow held up work earlier this week, Eddie and his workers didn’t just put down their tools – instead they used man and machine power to dig local residents out of the mounds of snow that had left them housebound.
Local resident Jim Mochan, 76, said: “People round here have a great relationship with the construction workers and we couldn’t believe it when on Tuesday, after the snow really badly affected the streets round the construction site, they set to and began to dig us out.
“They got a load of the guys with their shovels and some of their heavier machinery and literally dug us out of the snow drifts that had left us pretty much stranded up here.
“What a brilliant effort and gesture – we are all absolutely thrilled to bits with their efforts.”
Diane Watson, from Teviotdale Avenue, said she had seen what was going on and when she approached Eddie and his team to see if they could clear her cul-de-sac they immediately rushed to help.
Diane said: “We are well and truly snowed in up here.
“We always get way more snow than down in town and most of us have absolutely no way of getting cars out.
“One of my elderly neighbours had to go to a funeral and thanks to the team from the construction site who turned out to help he has been able to go and others have been able to get their cars out for the first time in two days.
“The whole community is so grateful to them for their efforts.”
Eddie said his team wanted to use their time to help out, since the snow meant they couldn’t work.
“The streets up here were badly affected by the snow, so it has been great to pull together and help people out,” he said.
“My workers have been delighted to do their bit and we did everything we could to clear roads and pavements.
“Everyone has been so grateful and we’re just delighted we could do what we could.”
Councillor for the area Kevin Keenan said: “I received a phone call from a local constituent enthusiastically telling me of the great job that had been done clearing the streets around the former St Margaret’s school site.
“This work was carried out by the construction workers who were either directly from that building site or the company laying fibre optic cable nearby,” he added.
“I would normally have complaints from residents about the issues that go hand in hand with construction work such as mud on the road, construction noise, workers’ cars taking all the street parking, the coming and going of site delivery vehicles, and the inconvenience of roads being dug up for utility infrastructure connections.”
“Hats off and a big thanks to the construction team – their efforts are very much appreciated.
“It is said Covid-19 has given us all very community-spirited outlook, let’s hope this is one legacy worth keeping from this horrible pandemic.”
Never let it be said there is no sense of community in Tayside and Fife.
Since Storm Darcy brought its icy blast, the tributes to people helping one another through the whiteout have been flooding into The Courier.
The latest to catch our eye are a team of builders clearing streets in Dundee and a Cowdenbeath “superwoman” pushing a stranded truck up a hill.
For every story highlighted in these pages, there will be dozens more going unheralded.
It has been a truly heroic effort.