School run road chaos is averted
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SCOTTISH Water sparked panic over plans to close a major road in Inverness in time for the first day back at school.
The utility company put signs up at each end of Culcabock Road, which serves Kingsmills Hotel and Inverness Golf Club, and leads to nearby Raigmore Primary and Millburn Academy.
The warning notices said the road on the city’s eastern suburb would be shut for seven days from next Wednesday.
This may have led to congestion, forcing tetchy parents to take lengthy diversions on the first morning of the school run, as well as confusion and delays for tourists trying to get to and from the luxury Kingsmills Hotel.
But complaints have sparked a re-think and the utility firm has now put the work on hold until later this year.
Craig Ewan, Kingsmills Hotel manager, was critical of the firm’s original timing. He said: "We were pretty much in the dark about this.
"We saw the signs but had no information about it. Communication from the company was not good at all. The chaos and confusion this would have caused at peak season would have been very difficult for our guests."
The sentiment was echoed by Millburn councillor Ian Brown, who said: "The timing was not great. Scottish Water must have more consultation with locals and businesses when they make decisions like this."
Apologising for the concern caused, a Scottish Water spokesman said: "Work to take care of the water network in Culcabock Road [needs] our team to dig in the middle of the road and unfortunately this cannot be done safely without closing the road to traffic. We appreciate this will cause disruption and, in light of this, the work has been postponed until a later date."
