A Cupar councillor has expressed frustration that a main road in the centre of town is to be dug up again just weeks after it was reopened following a major works programme.
Councillor Margaret Kennedy said it was “extremely disappointing” that Scottish Water is scheduled to dig up part of St Catherine Street on Wednesday when Fife Council had only just finished works there as part of its ongoing major traffic management improvement scheme.
It is understood Scottish Water has discovered a blockage in a sewer under the road in front of Boots. The infrastructure is more than three metres down.
Scottish Water will be ‘going in’ on Wednesday to assess the situation.
Councillor Kennedy said: “This announcement will not have come as a surprise to many, as there has been a Scottish Water works rumour going round the town for some time.
“It is extremely disappointing that these works are having to be undertaken given the frustrations which the town has gone through with various road closures to secure our planned improvements.
“I was keen that these works would at least be completed prior to the end of the works so that we can move forward more positively by that time. It is frustrating that Scottish Water could not have worked more closely with Fife Council to secure these works when St Catherine Street was closed previously.
“However, I am grateful to our officers for securing a minimal road closure, hopefully only for one day, should the works allow single-lane traffic movement.”
Dr Bob McLellan, head of transportation and environmental services with Fife Council, said: “The current phase of the roadworks has progressed well and the road closure on Station Road will be removed by this Friday morning, a week earlier than planned.
“Scottish Water have deemed the necessary works as emergency repairs to their sewer network. They are not planned works, which would have been picked up through the statutory noticing procedure with Scottish Water, which we did follow, and, therefore, not something that either party could have envisaged.”
A Scottish Water spokesperson confirmed an application had been made to close the A91 at the Mercat Cross, Bonnygate and St Catherine Street area for four days from Wednesday.
He said: “We have identified a serious issue with our sewer that means we have had to implement an emergency repair to prevent further flooding problems for customers in Cupar. We have found debris in the sewer and investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the problem.
“We are continuing to liaise with Fife Council on this matter and they have been kept fully aware of the repair work. We are happy to meet with Councillor Kennedy to discuss her concerns and to advise further on our investigations.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this unforeseen event will have on customers in Cupar.”