Council officials underline pledge to repair rural road

Work to resurface a stretch of the A821 between Aberfoyle and Port of Menteith is due to take place before the end of March, Stirling Council re-affirmed this week.

Roads officers at the authority are currently holding discussions to decide exactly when to timetable the £40,000 project.

Aberfoyle man William Jardine contacted the Observer in September to hit out at the state of the road and claim it was damaging the classic cars he owned.

Planned work on the A821 had been scheduled to take place in May but it was later postponed until the August Bank Holiday weekend.

But the resurfacing was again cancelled after businesses in the village voiced their concerns over the potential impact of major works during a potentially busy trading spell.

At the time council officials said they had listened and acted on the concerns of traders and would plan to do the work during the current financial year.

Mr Jardine, a 73-year-old lorry driver, told the Observer that since the council made that statement he had spoken to an official of the authority who told him“the money had been spent elsewhere and the road was not going to be repaired in 2018-19 financial year”.

However, a council spokesperson denied the claim and added:“The road resurfacing works on the A821 is still scheduled to go ahead this financial year and the money has not been set aside or allocated to other projects.

“Discussions are ongoing with the community to establish a date to commence the works, with weather conditions and public holidays also taken into account.”

Mr Jardine owns a 1937 MG Tickford and other classic cars and uses the pock-marked stretch of road when he heads to classic car rallies. He called for the road to be fixed as a matter of urgency.

Peter Sunderland of Gartmore House, chairman of the Aberfoyle Traders group, was one of those who asked the council to postpone the works in August.

He said at the time:“The Ballat Bridge was shut for a considerable period and if they decided to close the other road then you’re dead in the water.

“They rescheduled the work for the Bank Holiday weekend, which turned out to be a bonanza of a week for us.

“It would have made little sense to most of the business in Aberfoyle to do the works that particular weekend.

“We would like to see the road works carried out but at a time when it will have little impact.”

The council asked people using the A821 to report any potholes they have particular concerns about and promised temporary repairs would be undertaken.