Residents in lift breakdown block have been told they'll get a replacement

Long-suffering residents of Block D Newlands Place in Seafar have been especially inconvenienced by the unreliability factor of the lift because the bulk of them are elderly with mobility difficulties.

Their woes have been ongoing since April as the structure breaks down and is then repaired only to break yet again, Some instances of this have gone on for weeks and last Monday residents were in touch to say they were contending with the problem yet again.

This week, one of them, Moira Noble, said: “Sanctuary have now decided we need a new lift, that's the good news, Unfortunately the work is going to take seven weeks.

“Sanctuary are liaising with residents as we speak trying to accommodate those unable to get out, who may have to be relocated until the work is complete. Hopefully this will bring an end to this nightmare. I would like to thank the Cumbernauld News for the time and effort which helped our case immensely, I’m sure.”

Meanwhile, residents in neighbouring Block A were in touch with us about a security door in a disabled access building that hasn’t been operational since mid May.

We were told that the door – which is too heavy for vulnerable residents to manoeuvre at the best of times – wasn’t serving its purpose of keeping people out.

When the bearing on the top of the door broke the door the problem increased the door could not even be shut in its frame.

The Seafar area has recently proved to be a target for bogus callers and residents worried about their personal security.

One of them, Tony Asbridge said: “We were getting absolutely nowhere with this and when the bearing went that was it. Anyone could have got in, everybody is just sick of it.

However, an intervention from the Cumbernauld News saw Sanctuary Scotland hire a specialist contractor who had fixed the door by time of going to press.

A Sanctuary spokesman said: “We understand why residents were concerned and are sorry for the intermittent problems with the door.”