Road closure plan for new water main in Camster area is 'unacceptable', say residents
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A plan to close part of a Caithness road for five months so a new water main can be installed is "unacceptable," according to residents in the area.
Jo Bowd is unhappy with the proposal by Scottish Water which, she says, will close the Lybster to Watten road around the Camster area while the work is carried out.
There will be 30-minute access slots from 8.30-9am, 1-1.30pm and 5-5.30pm. The work is expected to get under way on September 18.
But Scottish Water said it will look at ways to minimise any disruption and stressed the work will deliver long-term benefits.
A meeting will be held at Lybster Community Hall tonight when local people will get an opportunity to meet the project team and ask questions.
Miss Bowd, who lives at Roster, said about 20 properties would be affected by the road closure and claimed the proposed alternative routes would make journeys much longer.
"The Camster road is in a bad state with potholes and isn't fit for the traffic which will be forced to use it," Miss Bowd said. "Also, it's single track and isn't gritted during winter and neither is the Haster road which will be used as a detour.
"Thirty-minute access windows are not enough, we would be lucky to get to Lybster and back in that time, forcing us on a huge detour.
"A lot of us shop online as we can't get things locally, delivery drivers are not going to be able to keep to these access times and what about fuel deliveries coming into the colder months?"
She also expressed concern about refuse collections, children going to and from school and people to and from work.
"Not everyone will be able to keep to those set times. What happens if anyone has a medical emergency or a fire, they are putting our safety at risk. Not all of us have transport and are not likely to be able to fit into these time slots either," she said.
Miss Bowd said there are "a lot of concerns" and expected the meeting to be heated. She said the proposals are "unacceptable".
"If you must close the road then why not do it and work overnight, that way you wouldn't be disrupting our lives as much as most of us stay home of an evening. Deliveries, home visits and appointments are made during the day so they wouldn't have to suffer either.
"They've obviously not thought this through and it's a bit late to be asking our opinions when they've already set out their plans," she added.
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: "The work we are carrying out between Occumster and Camster is needed to replace ageing pipes and secure a reliable water supply for customers for years to come.
"We recognise that delivering this kind of work involves short-term disruption and we seek to find practical ways of reducing this as far as we can, while delivering the long-term benefit of investment."
He added: "The section of water main is challenging because of the impact on the road network. The meeting is being held to explain our proposals, understand residents' concerns and explore whether there is anything further we can do to address them."
