Delight at Wick road repairs U-turn
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SOUTH Road in Wick is to be resurfaced this summer after all – at the cost of a quarter of a million pounds.
But one local resident believes it will be a "complete waste of £250,000" and accused the trunk road operator, Scotland TranServ, of "trying to take short cuts" by not addressing the issue of a collapsed water channel lying beneath the road.
Transport Scotland and TranServ have made a U-turn on the plan to mothball the much-needed resurfacing work following complaints from the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council and local politicians.
That is what local community council members heard at their monthly meeting on Monday night.
Yesterday, Scotland TranServ’s customer service manager Cathel Macaskill confirmed news of the repairs to the Caithness Courier.
"Our client, Transport Scotland, has made funding available to allow the design and construction of a resurfacing scheme in South Road, Wick," said Mr Macaskill.
"This will address all the current failures in the road surface.
"The scheme, a Transport Scotland investment of £250,000, is programmed for late summer and a full consultation programme will be undertaken before the scheme proceeds."
He added: "Some drainage issues will be addressed during the construction of the resurfacing scheme, including the replacement of 25 gullies."
However, delight at the move is not universal and it has been blasted by a bed and breakfast owner as a waste of money.
James Bremner, of The Clachan in South Road has been spearheading a local campaign to get the drainage issues in the area sorted since 2002.
"I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous," he said. "There is a collapsed culvert under the road and a robotic camera was lost down there during a survey many years ago.
"They are blinkered about this collapsed culvert – they just don’t want to know anything about it."
Mr Bremner added: "I’ve got nothing against the retail park, but when the council gave planning permission they ignored the fact that it would push all the rain water down South Road and this collapsed culvert just can’t cope with it."
Mr Bremner warned that as soon as there is heavy rain or a bad winter followed by a quick thaw then the flooding will return.
"Then they will end up digging through the new tar and you are back to square one again," he said. "It’s a ridiculous situation." The change of heart about the road work came to light after Wick community council secretary Joanna Coghill wrote to the area manager at Scotland’s national transport agency, Transport Scotland, sending a copy to local MSP Rob Gibson and John Thurso MP last month.
Transport Scotland’s project manager Keith Murray wrote back to explain that he had instructed Scotland TranServ to prepare the resurfacing scheme and was awaiting confirmation.
Councillor Gail Ross told the community council that MSP Rob Gibson had been told work would go ahead but she added: "That’s what they said before, though."
The maintenance scheme on South Road is to take place in July or August this year and will include replacing the worn and pot-holed surface.
Transport Scotland has also vowed to keep monitoring the drainage situation.
The community council also heard that there was some flooding in Norton Place (in South Road) in 2010 following repairs to a covered drain.
However, Mr Bremner says the repairs did not work.
"It has actually failed as I was speaking to a local woman who lives there and she told me she had been flooded again," he said. "Whatever they did down there did not work."
But yesterday, it was confirmed that further work will be undertaken on drainage at Norton Place.
The decision to scrap planned repair work on one of Wick’s busiest roads was met with fury at the community council in February.
One councillor branded the move completely unacceptable.
Scotland TranServ had previously proposed to resurface South Road this summer but the community council was told work would not go ahead amid claims the contractor had run out of money.
