Cash-strapped council re-lays pavement on only one side of a road – and tells stunned traders to finish the job themselves
Traders say the council claimed it couldn't risk causing damage on the land because it is owned by the shops
STUNNED shop owners were amazed after the council put new tarmac down on half of the pavement outside their businesses - telling them they had to finish it off.
Ridiculous pictures show the botched job, with black tarmac covering the edge of the pavement along the road, but the ground outside the shops old and faded.
Bemused shop owners in Bellhouse Road, Sheffield, said the job had been left half-finished because their businesses were previously houses with front gardens, so the area was still deemed private property.
Sheffield City Council has employed contractor Amey to upgrade all of the city's roads and paths as part of the £2 billion Streets Ahead scheme.
Mark Ashton, 50, who works at sandwich shop Mama Mia, said the buildings had been converted years ago but the council refused to re-tarmac the 30-metre strip of land.
He said: "The council have always argued that this is private property and that's council property.
"The council argument was if they did any work on our bit and caused any damage they would be the ones held responsible.
"They could probably sort all this out for a couple of hundred quid.
"It looks rubbish."
Abdul Qassin, 33, who owns off licence Amigos, said: "It's absolutely rubbish and really bad work.
"They never told us they were going to only do half.
"It has affected us a lot - customers are always talking about it amongst themselves. Very unprofessional."
Owner of fishmongers Veeges, Gena Kerr, 55, added: "It did need doing but when they started doing it, we were only then told that we were responsible for the 2nd half.
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"Nobody said anything to us.
"I think shop owners will just leave the pavement the way it is, I know I won't be paying for the work outside my shop.
"Nobody is walking on the section they've completed, they're only walking on the other bit, and anyone with mobility problems could have a problem.
Sheffield City Council sent a leaflet to traders saying work would take place over two nights on the final week of January, but they say they were never told it wouldn't be fully paved.
Cabinet member for Environment at Sheffield City Council Cllr Bryan Lodge said "small sections" of pavement outside the Firth Park Shopping Centre were "privately owned forecourts and are not therefore included in the works programme covered by Streets Ahead".
He said:"We would like to reassure local residents and shop owners that Streets Ahead works to the roads and pavements in Sheffield are delivered to the same standard across the city."
He insisted that businesses were sent a letter and map showing the exact location of resurfacing works, but said the council was not contacted by any traders.
He added: "We are sorry to hear that shop owners at Firth Park Shopping Centre are unhappy with the resurfacing on Bellhouse Road.
"To keep business owners informed of our plans for resurfacing in their area, a flyer was delivered to all properties and businesses between the 19th and 20th January 2017, roadshows were held in the local area and the areas due to be resurfaced were marked-up on site prior to surfacing starting.
"Businesses around the Firth Park Shopping Centre also received a letter and map to advise of the exact location of pavement resurfacing works and showing the defined extent of the highway boundaries and the private frontages.
"We did not receive any enquiries regarding ownership following delivery of these flyers.
"We are not aware of any areas where teams have resurfaced private shop frontages."
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