An elderly Edinburgh couple say they were refused a permit for a skip outside their home because of double yellow lines.
Caroline and Rob Seville, who live on Lanark Road, say they have been left flabbergasted by Edinburgh Council’s decision.
The couple, who are both in their seventies, say they may have to place the skip at the other side of the road from their house if they get work done.
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The couple wish to extend their conservatory but will have to dig up over a metre of foundations to do so.
And the wait for permission from the council has meant that they may have to delay the works to next year as the frost and wet conditions during winter may make the job impossible in the coming weeks.
On their ordeal, they said: “The council say that the issue that they have is that we stay in front of a double yellow line. But what concerns us most is that several homes along Lanark Road are situated on a double yellow line and does this mean that they are all consigned to never having work on their home carried out?
“They offered a couple of options, the first of which was to get permission for a skip on a wait and load basis, but when I spoke to people at the council they could not tell me how long the wait would be granted for. It could be anything from an hour to an entire day.
“The second option they offered was to place the skip at the other side of the road in one of the floating parking bays. But this would mean that the construction workers would have to pass two lanes of motor traffic and two cycle lanes which is extremely unsafe for all involved. When we raised this, the builder's health did not seem to be the council’s concern.
“They went on to tell us that they did not want to block any cycle lanes but the irony is that cyclists have to overtake stationary busses further down the road but a skip on a temporary basis is too much apparently?
“Due to the delays in the decision by the council we have reluctantly agreed to our contractor to defer bills to the end of March next year due to weather deterioration which means they can't pour concrete and work on sloppy grass. Our roof has to be partially opened but with us entering winter this may not be possible due to the wind and the rain.
“We have been waiting for approval on our skip since August and if the council had acted quickly then the job would have been completed by now.
“We are grateful to Councillor Johnston, as he has stepped in and is helping us chase the issue. But we have no idea if we will be granted permission come March or if we will be forced to work with our contractors to get cherry pickers across Lanark Road to the skip. It doesn't bear thinking about.”
Edinburgh City Council and Councillor Johnston were approached for comment.
