Response to Openreach work on Cross Street, Oswestry

Works were undertaken in Cross Street, Oswestry last week by contractors working on behalf of Openreach, and upon completion they have carried out a temporary reinstatement of the site.

The permit that was agreed gave no warning that the reinstatement would be interim, so it is extremely disappointing that given the large amount of interim reinstatement they failed to give us prior knowledge. Unfortunately it would appear that a number of the stone slabs were damaged whilst being removed and it would not have been safe to relay these, hence the need for an interim reinstatement to keep the area safe for the public.

We completely understand the frustration of local residents, but under current national legislation utilities companies are permitted to do this type of repair provided that a permanent repair of the surface is complete within six months.

We totally understand that to wait this long will not be acceptable, and we are already taking steps to put pressure on Openreach to prioritise a permanent repair sooner than the permitted timescale. Openreach and their contractors are currently seeking replacement stone slabs with a view to getting these relayed as soon as possible.

The area will be monitored by the council’s streetworks team and we will be in liaison with Openreach to get this area reinstated to a satisfactory state as soon as is practical.