A council blunder which resulted in historic Aberdeen cassies being tarred over could “sett” back the city council more than £100,000, it has emerged.
Residents were appalled when council workers tarred over a stretch of granite setts, which are paving blocks similar to cobbles, at the entrance to Old Aberdeen’s High Street in May.
Now it has been revealed that relaying new stones in the area will cost £106,000.
However, there is currently no money available in the local authority’s budget for the work to be carried out this year.
Now Seaton, Tillydrone and Old Aberdeen councillor Alexander McLellan has written to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to see if there is funding available to make the repairs sooner.
He said: “I was disappointed to hear that a permanent repair is going to be so costly and, as such, very unlikely to take place in the near future.
“I have therefore written to the Heritage Lottery Fund asking if there is any external funding that might be available to the council.
“The temporary repairs are having a massive impact on the aesthetics of the area for local residents and visitors to the university and it is right to explore every option to resolve this problem.”
A city council spokesman said discussions were ongoing with the community council.
He added: “Emergency remedial work was undertaken as a safety measure using the most appropriate material for a temporary surface.
“Although all resources and priorities have been allocated by Aberdeen City Council for this financial year, discussions with the Old Aberdeen Community Council are ongoing to find a positive and appropriate way forward.”
But Old Aberdeen councillor, and council roads spokesman, Ross Grant said he thought Mr McLellan’s plan was unlikely to be successful.
He said: “The suggestion of seeking HLF funding may be well intended by my colleague, but I’m not convinced that HLF will fund what is, in effect an operational repair and could potentially kick the repair into the long grass.
“Instead what the community want to see is a clear plan of action and that is why I’ve asked officers to look at the options available to us that would move things forward as soon as practicably possible.”
