Disabled woman in ramp plea
Post office access anger
A wheelchair-bound Cowie woman is calling on the village Post Office to provide a ramp at its entrance.
Linda Connal has been using a wheelchair for almost a decade as she suffers from chronic pain syndrome.
She has lived in Cowie for 12 years, but rarely uses the Post Office in the Main Street Nisa store as she cannot get her wheelchair up a step at the front door.
The Post Office however pointed out this week that a portable ramp is available by customer request.
Fifty-three year-old Ms Connal said: “The Post Office isn’t suitable for wheelchair access.
“I’m not the only wheelchair user in this area and it seems to me there should be a ramp for wheelchair users.
“I used to withdraw my benefits from the Cowie Post Office as I was able to get there in the wheelchair and get out of it to go inside, but that’s no longer possible as my condition has been getting worse. I now tend to go to the bank in Stirling for business.
“However, it’s getting harder and harder to do. I’d like to use the Post Office in Cowie more.
“I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a ramp at the Cowie Post Office. It would make my life, and the lives of other wheelchair users much easier.
“I have asked staff in Cowie a number of times about putting in a ramp and it has never happened.
“I asked again a few weeks ago and was told something would happen in a fortnight, but the fortnight has passed and nothing has happened.”
When the Observer contacted the store last week the manager, who did not wish to give his name, said he had not been aware that a ramp issue had been raised.
He pointed out there is a bell at the door of the premises to alert staff that wheelchair users required access, adding: “Our staff would be more than happy to come out and help.
“In terms of a ramp. It is a very small pavement. It’s not straightforward.
“We have widened the entrance to the store and the aisles with people in wheelchairs in mind.”
A Post Office spokesperson said this week: “Cowie Post Office is unable to install a permanent ramp at the entrance to this branch because the width of the pavement is not sufficient to meet planning conditions.
“However, a portable ramp is available upon request, there is a bell at the entrance which customers should use to alert staff that they require assistance.”
Post office isn’t suitable for wheelchairs