Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Pensioner wins dangerous steps battle as council agree to carry out work

Bill Ross is concerned about a set of steps in Ardgay, picture by Andrew Smith
Bill Ross is concerned about a set of steps in Ardgay, picture by Andrew Smith

A Sutherland pensioner has won his battle with Highland Council over a “dangerous” flight of steps near his home.

The local authority has now carried out urgent repairs and has agreed to reconfigure or replace the stairs at a sheltered housing complex in Ardgay.

Resident Bill Ross raised concerns about the safety of the steps, which lead down to the main road near the village shop and cafe.

The retired surveyor even went as far as produced detailed drawing for a replacement flight of steps after he realised that the existing pathway did not comply with building regulations.

Last night, the 72-year-old was celebrating the “major achievement” of forcing the council to take action.

Mr Ross said: “I regard it as a very significant achievement to have produced a public announcement by the Highland Council within three weeks, after years of intransigent refusal to act, that these steps will be rebuilt before the coming winter.

“It is a tacit acknowledgement that the grounds of legal fact on which I have built my case have validity.”

Mr Ross was concerned about the unequal “risings and goings” – the vertical and horizontal sections which make up the stairs – and his proposed alternative involves two flights of steps of a more even style, with a central rest landing in between.

He has now stepped back and handed the project over to the Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust in order to return to his hobby of wood carving.

Development manager Helen Houston said: “I am delighted that the council has acknowledged the obvious danger associated with these steps and that a contract will be let to ensure that the new steps will comply with current building regulations.

“The need for safe passage to the pavement is important given the disabilities of the tenants living in Oakwood Place.

“The use of the path has significantly increased due to the existence of the new shop and cafe on the opposite side of the road.

“This could therefore have resulted even more incidents on these steps.”

A spokeswoman for the council said: “An urgent inspection was carried out and some immediate repairs were completed.

“We are also looking at options for reconfiguring or replacing the steps and further work will be carried out as soon as practicable.”