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NORTON is breathing a sigh of relief after workers finally finished the upgrade of the town's sewage system.

As a parting gift and apology for the long delays on Church Street, officials from Yorkshire Water have donated £500 to spend on community projects.

Work on the £1.4 million scheme began back in January and was scheduled to be finished by the end of March.

But a string of delays frustrated residents, traders and officials while traffic was diverted along narrow residential streets.

Norton town councillor Paul Farndale said: "We are glad the work has finally been completed although the finish could have been a lot better. The town has suffered due to these roadworks and I think £500 is a paltry sum considering the financial losses of local businesses."

At a meeting of Norton Town Council last month, traders vented their frustration claiming the work has cost profits and even jobs.

Owner of The Bakery in Norton, Steve Kowalewicz, said his takings were down 30 per cent since the start of the controversial works.

He said: "Initially Yorkshire Water did promise to compensate businesses for any inconvenience and I hope they remain true to their word. I understand the work has been hit by flooding but there was nobody working weekends to get on with the job."

More works are earmarked in Commercial Street when improvements totalling £300,000 planned by North Yorkshire County Council are given a start date.

Mr Kowalewicz added: "We are all glad that it's over but bracing ourselves for the future works in Commercial Street. It seems like it's a never-ending battle."

Officials from Yorkshire Water blamed heavy rain and flooding for the delays and have apologised to the town.

In a statement, project manager Martyn Waller said: "January's rain wasn't helpful and the residents' concern was entirely understandable - especially when there didn't seem to be much work going on in April.

"However, by then, we'd hit an additional snag as it had become apparent that we were going to have to ask Northern Gas Networks to move their main to allow us to finish our work.

"They came as soon as they could, but it meant another delay - and there wasn't much we could do in the meantime. Of course, that meant there wasn't a lot of activity on site and it probably looked like we were dragging our heels, even though we were actually acutely aware of the community's concern - especially businesses in the area which were worried about the impact the project could have on trade.

"We hope a £500 donation to a project or cause of Norton Town Council's choosing will be seen as a gesture of thanks - and as a sincere apology for the inconvenience our work may have caused."

9:23am Saturday 10th May 2008

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