Paul and Kathy Rossiter.
Camera IconPaul and Kathy Rossiter. Credit: Supplied/Matt Jelonek

Heathcote staircase to be reopened by this weekend

Jaime ShurmerMelville Gazette

A STAIRCASE deemed unsafe by residents at Heathcote is expected to be fixed in time for the weekend.

Kathy Rossiter and husband Paul, both of Applecross, discovered the staircase’s fault when they both tripped soon after it opened March 14.

Mr Rossiter, a retired engineer, said the width and height of the steps did not comply with the Building Code and Mrs Rossiter notified the council but no action was taken at that time.

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They and their friends were forced to walk sideways down the stairs and hold the railing to avoid falling.

City of Melville closed the stairs after questions were asked by the Melville Times and began investigations to find out whether the staircase needed to comply with the Code .

Melville chief executive Shayne Silcox told the paper on Tuesday that a safety issue was identified with the new stairs despite the City outlining the correct specifications for the job and a third party surveyor not identifying the inconsistency in the stair heights.

“The City’s contractor has accepted liability for the issue and is acting swiftly to rectify it,” Dr Silcox said.

“Works are currently being undertaken on the stairs to address the inconsistency in the stair height to ensure that they are complaint from a safety point-of-view.”

The works were expected to be finished yesterday, with a compliance certificate to be signed off by an external access consultant by the end of the week so the stairs could be reopened for public use.