A timetable for repairs on brickwork in Perth’s Mill Street has been revealed after the job left a local man “lost for words”.
Ian Clark, from Blairgowrie, was left fuming at the condition the street was left in following works by a utility company.
Perth and Kinross Council confirmed in September that the measures were temporary and the street would return to normal.
In an update, Councillor Peter Barrett has told The Courier that repair works, carried out by SSEN, will begin in the new year.
Mill Street restoration to begin early next year
He said: “The paving material will be delivered to SSEN during December.
“The council have an embargo on any non-essential excavation work during the run-up to Christmas to minimise disruption to shoppers and local businesses.
“As the previous excavations had been temporarily backfilled with tarmacadam this does not qualify as essential work.
“But I am glad to say that, starting in the new year, SSEN’s specialist blockwork contractor will tackle the final reinstatement of each section in stages.”
The Lib Dem councillor says SSEN has ordered replacement materials for each location and has worked with the council to make sure it is suitable.
The works carried out by SSEN were to fix two ongoing faults – which have been repaired – and to make network improvements.
Cllr Barrett hopes the news will “allay the concerns of local residents and city centre shoppers”.
He added: “I want to thank everyone involved: SSEN for their commitment to putting the pavements back the way they found them, PKC for assisting them in that regard.
“And finally The Courier and Civic Trust for highlighting the matter.”
SSEN says work should take a week
A spokesperson for SSEN Distribution said: “Following essential excavation works to repair one of our underground cables in September, we laid Tarmac as an interim measure to make the area safe for the local community while we went about sourcing suitable replacement stone blocks.
“We have always been committed to restoring the award-winning streetscape after our essential works in September.
“We are also aware of how inconvenient it would be to carry out this installation of the replacement stones during the busy festive period and so, in agreement with Perth and Kinross Council, we will be carrying out the work in January.
“The date is weather-dependent, and we expect the whole process to be completed within a week.”
Perth and Kinross Council has been contacted for comment.
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