Disabled shoppers have hit out at the Thistles after the shopping centre revealed its lifts would be out of operation for two months.
Some say the lack of disabled access has meant that they have been unable to use the centre.
The lifts are were severely damaged during the flooding on June 24 during which more than an inch of rain fell in the space of an hour.
Roads and underpasses were flooded and the deluge shut two city supermarkets and led to the closure of three schools.
Flood-damaged lifts in the Thistles’ T1 car park are due to be back in use by the end of next month, with repairs expected to take place in the coming weeks.
At present, there is one operational lift at the Marches car park. Thistles chiefs are allowing 10 minutes of free parking to allow shoppers time to make their way from the T1 car park in the city centre to the Marches to access the lift.
However, a Stirling resident who did not wish to be named told the Observer that their grandmother was now unable to do her shopping at the centre because of the lift problems at the T1 car park.
They said: “My Gran couldn’t go in to shop because the Marches is too far for her to walk to the shops. There should be somebody at the gates to let people know what is going on and to provide extra help for disabled customers.
“The floods were more than a month ago and the lifts are still not working. And yet there’s nothing about this on their website.
“My gran would usually visit the centre every second Saturday to go to M&S but now she can’t do that. We were told we could use lift at the bus station, which is working, but that’s not a feasible alternative either as it’s still too far away. If you’re disabled, you cannot go to these shops.”
Cambusbarron Community Council member Cathie Graham accused the Thistles of ‘cutting off’ disabled people from shopping at the centre.
She said: “I meet up with my sister, who is also disabled, at the Thistles Centre every Wednesday.
“This is a disgraceful situation, with only one lift working between the two car parks. There are huge queues in the Marches now, with young mothers and their prams as well as people with disabilities.
“This is deplorable, especially during the holiday season when the centre is especially busy.
“It’s not convenient. We have to walk further from the Marches to reach M&S where we regularly shop. And the car park in the Marches isn’t set up with baskets that are easy to grab and take with you.
“Is it only fit people that are able to shop there anymore? It makes the entire shopping proccess so much harder for me as I’m 81, and especially for my sister who is 83.”
“The centre is cutting off a whole body of people from shopping there, wheelchair users and young mums especially. I actually saw a young mum in the centre having to carry her baby up the stairs as well as her pram.”
Robert Dick, chair of the Stirling Area Access Panel, commented: “It is regrettable that the lifts are out of action, we do hope that this issue is resolved quickly as it does make basic shopping opportunities difficult for people with physical challenges, and it also means a loss of potential customers to the businesses there.
“Further, the accessible toilet provision in the Thistles / Marches Centre has been extremely poor for many years, coupled with incorrect signage to the toilets there. Improvements would help with the social isolation facing many in our ageing society, and of course services are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010, so thought should be given to inclusion and ending indirect discrimination.
“A changing places toilet in the Thistles/Marches Centre is long overdue, and is a positive, if not essential feature in any town / city centre shopping facility, especially as incredibly, there are none in Stirling City.”
A spokesperson for Thistles Shopping Centre said: “We can confirm that the T1 car park lifts are currently unavailable due to the recent flooding Stirling experienced which was unfortunately out with our control.
“Our guest services team members have been meeting and greeting visitors at the entrance to the T1 car park daily to explain our current situation and have been redirecting them to the operational lift available in our Marches car park for any of our guests who require use of a lift. Our team is working hard to rectify the issue and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
