The head of the company behind Kirkcaldy High Street’s controversial improvement works has admitted his firm has “fallen short”.
Stuart Dillett, managing director of Land Engineering, has now stepped in to take over responsibility for the £1 million project, which is running four months behind schedule.
He said the work to improve roads, pavements and parking had been mis-managed and the entire scheme had stalled from the start.
The company failed to order enough granite to complete the order and other materials arrived from China in the wrong order meaning sections of work were held up.
The person in charge of the project no longer works for Land Engineering.
Mr Dillett said he was “extremely disappointed” by the debacle and has pledged to ensure the rest of the scheme is delivered as smoothly as possible.
Traders at the west end of the High Street have complained their businesses are suffering as footfall plummets because of the work.
Mr Dillett has now promised to keep shopkeepers fully informed of developments as he manages the project himself.
He met traders last week for the first in a series of updates about the scheme and revealed it should be finished in November.
He said: “I was extremely disappointed to learn of the delays that have affected our delivery of the third phase of Kirkcaldy High Street’s environmental improvements.
“A number of factors have combined to significantly complicate the delivery of the project on the original schedule.
“Despite some good progress in the past few weeks and our very best efforts to get the timescales back on track, it is now clear that the estimated date to complete the final 20% of the project is likely to be November.”
Mr Dillett said Land Engineering was confident the quality of the finished job in Kirkcaldy would be of the highest standard but added: “We also recognise that, on this occasion, we have fallen short in meeting your expectations and the timescales demanded.”
Kirkcaldy MSP David Torrance said he was reassured by Mr Dillett’s comments.
“If the managing director himself is going to take personal responsibility for this then I welcome that,” he said.
“The failure of the company to complete the order on time has cost the local business people in the area dear so I am glad they are going to try to finish this as quickly as possible.”
