Brothers’ flat woes after lift issue scuppers move

A 55-YEAR- OLD man with Parkinson’s disease and his carer brother are having to find alternative living arrangements after learning there is a problem with the lift in a new council housing development.

Norrie Bruce, who has been suffering from the degenerative disease for 10 years, currently lives with his younger brother James in a top-floor flat in Claggan.

Last month the Highland Council allocated the pair a two-bedroom apartment in Tweeddale Building on Fort William High Street.

The flat is one of 22 homes available for council rent thanks to £2.9 million development which was due for completion on April 28.

Describing the move as a ‘dream come true’, the brothers had already viewed the flat and were looking forward to picking up their keys – only to have the ‘dream’ taken away from them.

James told Lochaber Times: ‘ We were just about to sign on the dotted line, everything was looking great and then a representative from the council mentioned the lift was unreliable.

‘At that point everything changed. There was no way I could move my brother in there worrying that he would get stuck at any point.’

Previously a keen biker and football player, Norrie says he has more difficulty going down stairs than coming up as he feels weakness in his knees.

He now spends his spare time creating artwork on his computer, saying it keeps him going.

He added: ‘The flat was just perfect, it was open-plan with the bedroom looking onto the High Street and the living space looking onto the loch.

‘We would have been so near the supermarkets which would have made life a lot easier.

‘Living in Claggan, I spend £1,600 a year on taxis to and from the town to get things I need day to day.

‘They [the council] said there were problems with the phone in the lift and that it was unreliable. I don’t just worry about me though. What about the other people who need to use the lift?’

Norrie added: ‘You wouldn’t get into a plane knowing it was half finished.’

The Lochaber Times contacted Highland Council about Norrie’s experience, asking for clarity about the problem with the lift and, given that it is a new build, why is it not being fixed.

A spokesperson for HC said it was the resident’s carer who decided not to take the Tweeddale flat, adding that the brothers were not advised against taking it because of the lift situation, and that at no point have members of staff suggested the lift in the building is unreliable.

The spokesperson added: ‘They did explain that anyone wholly reliant on the lift could have difficulties escaping unaided in the event of a fire.

‘ We must stress that in this case the decision to turn down the flat was made by the carer. Housing staff are working to find a more suitable alternative property.’ On Tuesday, Norrie and James told the

Lochaber Times that HC had been in touch regarding a flat now available at another development, on Belford Road.

Norrie said: ‘They told me a flat Bel haven had become available. I was surprised because previously they said they were all full.

‘The Belhaven flat is ground floor and is opposite the swimming pool which is good for me but I won’t have as much independence as I could have had in the High Street and my condition is only going to get worse.

‘ We have still to see the flat and people won’t be moving in until the end of June.

‘I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t come to the Lochaber

Times though.’