Can Gorebridge cope with two Stobhill Roads?

By DAWN MORRISON
Published on Monday 30 January 2012 12:00

I HAVE often walked down this street before – or maybe it was that street . . .Gorebridge in Midlothian is home to not one – but two – Stobhill Roads and the duplicated name is causing a headache for residents.

And with reports of an ambulance calling at the wrong house, post going missing and the police being left scratching their heads, it now looks likely that one of the Stobhill Roads will be renamed.

One of the streets is smaller and close to the centre of the town and the other is in the Gowkshill area.

David Anderson, 50, a professional driver who lives in the lesser Stobhill Road, said: “It is an absolute nightmare. Even the police don’t know where we are.

“I can’t order anything online because half the time the companies can’t find my address on the system.”

The title deeds to the few town properties have their addresses as Bonnybank Road. The creation of nearby flats in the 1950s may have led to the road being split.

Midlothian Council roads spokeswoman Councillor Wilma Chalmers said of the road: “It’s been known as Stobhill Road for years and years. However, because of the recent interest, we have done some research.

“We did find old county council records which show between 1961 and 1964, the old county council bought several plots on that stretch to realign the road.

“Two of the plots refer to the street as ‘formerly Stobhill Road’ while another plot on the same side of the street does make reference to being ‘formerly known as Bonnybank Road’.”

Cllr Jim Muirhead, who was approached by the constituents affected, told a meeting of Gorebridge Community Council: “One individual had cause to phone the police and the police had gone to the wrong address.

“But, more importantly, this person had to call an ambulance and the ambulance went to the wrong address. The person there was elderly and infirm and they went at 3am.

“It’s a real issue that we need to resolve and it’s not an easy thing to resolve.”

Both the police and the ambulance service insist the issue was not a concern and they are confident of being able to tell the difference between the two streets. They were unable to find evidence of the reported mix-ups.

But the council is still set to consider changing the name of the smaller street tomorrow, with officials recommending the properties be incorporated into Bonnybank Road – of which there is, thankfully, only one.

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runaway

Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 11:37 AM

I take it MC is still controlled by Labour......say's it all really..Morons

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rabmccall

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:46 PM

Cllr Jim Muirhead says its not an easy thing to resolve for a Cllr Thats true but just ask any school kid and they will tell you call it bonnybank road like it used to be thicko

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