UNSIGHTLY repairs to a busy Oswestry town centre street are "extremely disappointing", according to Shropshire Council.

The unitary authority today responded after a section of pavement outside the Grade I listed Llwyd Mansion on Cross Street was recently dug up to allow for work by Openreach.

However, the aftermath - which has seen some flagstones were replaced with tarmac - has sparked a lot of annoyance in the past couple of days and residents have demanded answers from the council.

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said they understood the frustration.

They explained that the permit for the work that was agreed gave no warning of the reinstatement of the path being interim.

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A spokesperson from Shropshire Council said: “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.”

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The council is now taking steps to push Openreach to prioritise and fast-track the works, as they believed the wait is not acceptable.

They added: “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 street works team and we will be in liaison with Openreach to get this area reinstated to a satisfactory state as soon as is practical.”