Broken lift at club cause for concern

The lady, who did not wish to have her name published, said her 19-year-old son is permanently in a wheelchair and has been a Glenavon fan since he was six.

She told the ‘MAIL’ her issue was with a disabled lift in the Crescent Stand at Glenavon.

Glenavon are aware of the problems with the lift and the Tandragee company who fitted the lift are also endeavouring to fix it.

The Lurgan woman said: “The lift is broken more often than its working. Three times already this season they’ve had to lift him up the steps. There’s all sort of dangers with carrying a wheelchair that way.

“In terms of health and safety I would have serious concerns considering there is no ramp or other alternative if the lift isn’t working.”

Glenavon said there had been a problem with the lift since it was fitted at the start of 2011.

A spokesperson said: “The club has been very proactive in terms of getting this issue resolved.

“It’s in our interests to have this lift working. We sympathise with the woman making the complaint. Sadly the fault lies with the product and the manufacturers have not been able to fix it to date.”

Dolphin Lifts are the Northern Ireland agent for Italian company Vimec who manufacture the brand of lift in use at Mourneview Park.

Owner Jeffrey Scott said: “Whenever Glenavon have contacted us about issues with the lift we’ve been out as soon as possible to fix it.

“I gave up my Saturday afternoon to watch the lift in action during the recent home game against Crusaders. We also had someone at the Portadown game which was on Sky. There were no problems with the lifts during either of those matches, but we were contacted again this week to say the lift wasn’t working during the Linfield game.

“I’ve been in touch with the manufacturers and this Thursday we’ll be replacing the complete electrical control system of the lift.

“All the repairs have been done at no cost to Glenavon as the lift is under guarantee. We’re also prepared to extend the guarantee by 24 months.

“There are other lifts the same as this that we have installed and had no problems with. This is an issue I want to have resolved as soon as possible.”