My local High Street (Hemel Hempstead) has been undergoing a major refurbishment to make it “Enhance the historic character of the Old Town whilst improving traffic flow and pedestrian movement”. The project is running seriously late; it has been bedeviled by problems ranging from unavailability of materials, difficult ground conditions & unknown tombs discovered in the car park (whilst the town has a great history connected with Henry VIII, it was no-one with Royal blood like Leicester).
After telling the local traders that they were shutting the road for seven weeks, not surprisingly there was uproar at the council liaison meeting. To avoid a complete breakdown in local council/trader relationships they have come up with a revised plan that will allow the businesses to trade as usual, including offering some minor financial assistance, so that by Christmas the Street will be “open as usual” with finishing works starting again in the New Year.
Interestingly, Herts County Council (the project leader) have just announced that they have reached agreement with the Contractor to put in CCTV cameras to monitor the progress of the work. Is this unusual, or will it become the norm? What next, will they put up CCTV in the Project Office, the Council Office? How far will it go?
To view the current discussion and add comments of your own, just click on “Big Brother on a construction site?” above