A Perthshire road closure which would have severed an important link route has been called off for further consultations with the local community.
Scottish Water had been intending to close the A823 between the Castlehill reservoir and the Glendevon water treatment works for a week from March 5 for site investigations.
SNP MSP Roseanna Cunningham has welcomed Scottish Water’s decision not to proceed with closing the road which connects Auchterarder with Clackmannanshire at this stage
“The position of the planned road closure would have caused major disruption to the daily lives of the constituents who contacted me,” she said.
“The short notice offered by Scottish Water and the extremely poor levels of interaction with the community shown by them were entirely unacceptable.
“I raised these and other concerns with Scottish Water and I was pleased to receive notification that the works will not go ahead as originally planned and an apology for the concern that has been caused to my constituents.
“Over and above that, they are now in the process of organising an information event for local residents about the work that is needed and hope that it will be possible to identify a more acceptable way forward.
Conservative MSP Liz Smith also welcomed the news saying: “The A823 is a vital artery for residents in the area and if it is to close, even temporarily, then the people who use it should be given adequate warning.
“I am glad to see that Scottish Water is taking a new approach, which now includes an extensive local consultation and I would encourage as many residents as possible to attend the public meeting.”
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “We would like to apologise to customers in Glendevon for the concern that was caused by our proposed work on the A823.
“We recognise that any closure of the road involves significant disruption to the local community.
“In light of the feedback we have received, the work originally proposed for next week will not now go ahead.
“We are writing to residents in the area to invite them to a meeting in Glendevon Church Hall on Monday March 12 at 7pm to discuss the work that is needed further.”