WITH Wilko no longer present on our high streets, uncertainty persists over the future of a set of lifts formerly run by the Newton Abbot branch of the discount retailer.

The lifts, which, at present, remain out of action, were in constant use by the community, be it parents with pushchairs or those with reduced mobility; this was especially given the lift at the Multi Story Car Park is, it would be fair to say, less than consistent.

Concern has, therefore, arisen over reliable access to the amenities, such as the public toilets and, in particular, the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), for persons who require the use of a lift.

How is a wheelchair user, for example, to access the CAB should the lift at the Multi Story Car Park be broken?

‘Unless someone takes over the building and operates the lift, you are completely reliant on the car park lift which is unreliable’ said Vincent Willson of Citizens Advice Teignbridge.

‘That effects our clients as well as some people who volunteer with us’ he added.

The fate of the two lifts is not known; Teignbridge District Council are responsible for the lift at the Multi Story Car Park, but remind people they have no control over the Wilko lifts, which now sport signs reading ‘Out of order - to access the toilets and balcony level please use the spital stairs located in the Market Square’

Cllr Mike Joyce, Newton Abbot Town Councillor for Bushell Ward, said: ‘It just seems to me that nobody gave any thought to the lifts being vacant after Wilko shut.

‘My concern was, and still is, that we knew this was going to happen.

‘Was any thought given to how people are going to get from A to B?’

‘Somenbody should have had the foresight to know this was going to happen and try and sort something out.’