Residents appeal for action on footpaths

In a direct appeal to the Roads Service to upgrade the paving, the Fold Scheme co-ordinator, Dorothy Dunn, said staff and residents had been trying for a long time to get repair work done, but with no succes.

“It is Roads Service that is responsible for our paths, and this is how they have been since September or October last year,” she said, pointing to a particularly poor section of concrete which has crumbled into fine rubble.

“We have people here with Zimmer Frames and who use walking sticks, and someof our residents are quite elderly and have vision problems and mobility issues, so anything that impedes their mobility impacts on their quality of life,” she said.

Daphne Thompson, who has been a resident at Foyle Fold for eight years, and who is chairwoman of the residents group at the Fold, said the ground in places was very uneven and as a consequence was ‘very dangerous’.

“We have a lady living in the Fold who comes out using her Zimmer, and tends to walk down the front path and returns round the back. She is 93 and she tripped and I came out to her and helped her. I told her I had to be very careful as the fround was very uneven,” she said.

Daphne said she had previously telephoned the Council about the footpaths, adding that a workman came out last year and put up a cordon and some bollards, but these were removed last year in September and the area where the bollards had been had simply been in-filled with loose material

“I am appealing on behalf of the resisents for Roads Service to come back and repair the paths so that the elderly residents can get about without worrying about tripping up while using walking sticks and their Zimmer frames,” she said.

DUP councillor Maurice Devenney, who visited the Fold on Friday with fellow DUP Alderman, Joe Miller, said: “This is a serious issue for the community of people living here. A lot of them are elderly and have diabilities and find it very difficult to walk on these paths as they are broken up. Roads Service need to be seen to be doing something here, as there are people here using walking aids while others have problems with their eyesight.

“The DUP will be making represenations to Roads Service to see what can be done for these people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Miller said: “I have spoken to Roads Service and they have assured me they will be sending someone out in the near future to examine the condition of the paths, and they have undertaken to come back to Maurice and myself with the results of their investigations.”

A spokesman for the Roads Service said: "Roads Service is aware of the situation. This area has been inspected and no actionable defects were identified at the time. However, given the nature of the development repairs to cracked and damaged concrete footways will be undertaken within the next few weeks."