Kirkcaldy High Street works delayed by a month

Work began at the west end of the High Street in January with an estimated £1 million being spent on upgrades to parking areas, the road surface, street lighting and furniture, with everything expected to be finished by July.

The revamp is the third and final phase of the town centre improvement project.

Councillor Neil Crooks said he was told about the delay at an Area Committee meeting last week by the project’s contractor, Land Engineering.

He said he told the company he expected them to finish as near to the original deadline as possible.

“I’m disappointed to hear that these works have fallen so far behind schedule,” he said.

“This project is high profile and has significant effects on west end trading.

“The last thing our High Street needs are these works delayed.

“I sympathise with the traders and ask for their continued patience as we endeavour to get this resolved.

“Land Engineering attended Area Committee on Wednesday and we made it very clear we expect the company to do all in their power to get the project back on course.”

In April Land Engineering, which has worked on previous developments such as Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, gave a reassurance that the project would finish on time as it emerged work was falling behind schedule.

The blame was then put on problems getting materials, and staff turnover with an absence of workers on the job.

After this latest set back was revealed, Mark Dewar, service manager at Fife Council, said: “We apologise for the delays to this project.

“We’re working with Land Engineering to address our concerns and find ways to reduce these delays.”

Land Engineering will be visiting High Street traders within the next week with a revised programme.