Castlegate shop owners have hit out at Aberdeen City Council for failing to remove fencing months after construction work.
Businesses claim the barriers, erected for pavement flagstone repair work that started in June and finished in August, are affecting footfall.
The council says the fencing has not been removed as it’s needed to ensure vehicles do not drive over the new flagstones while they set and settle in.
It comes as more resurfacing work was announced, with the area around Mercat Cross set for an unsightly makeover in the coming weeks.
Flagstones on the road at the east end of Union Street will be retained and replaced with a temporary road surface, in a bid to make the uneven road safer – and to levy a £1.5million repair bill.
Calum Rattray, who runs Castlegate Collectables antique store, said the local authority did not consult him or other business owners about the works.
He said: “All the slabs have been repaired and they’ve just kept the fence there, they’ve never taken it down.
“There’s about a dozen other shopkeepers going crazy.”
Mr Rattray, who also thinks the council should reimburse local businesses, called the stones a “death trap”.
Fence is ‘blocking foot traffic’
Another business affected by the fence is Grade A Barbers, whose owner Lennon Brown said the area looks closed due to the “massive fence”.
He told The Press and Journal: “I just think it’s a bit pointless having it up, you’re blocking foot traffic and affecting businesses.
“If they’ve done what they’ve needed to do, I don’t understand the point of having it up, because you’re just going to be affecting businesses.
“If you’re looking up from the top of Union Street, you just assume it’s closed off.
“It stops foot traffic and stops people from wanting to come down this bit.”
A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council said: “The new works are being carried out to create a route across the Castlegate to make it suitable for vehicles.
“Specialised repair works to flagstones on a different pavement part of the Castlegate were carried out from the beginning of June to the end of August and included assessing repair method options and costs.
“The fencing has been kept up to ensure vehicles did not go onto the pavement area until the repairs to the flagstones set and settled in.
“A consultation with businesses would have been the preferred method, however the current plan underway is the only viable option to ensure the current vehicular access whilst maintaining the safety of pedestrians and other non-motorists, particularly vulnerable road users.”
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