Anglian Water fixes 'unsightly scar' on Northampton's newly-refurbished Market Square following outrage

It emerged last week (Monday) that Anglian Water had ripped up part of the new paving, near Zapato Lounge, and replaced it with a strip of tarmac while completing utility works.

At the time, many residents took to social media to voice their outrage.

Conservative Councillor Dan Lister, who oversaw the Market Square refurbishment at WNC, called it ‘unsightly’ and said it ‘ruins the look of our new Market Square’.

He said: "We don’t want this street scar blighting our new square and have pressed them to return and repair it as quickly as possible."

An Anglian Water spokeswoman said: “The tarmac on Market Square is a temporary solution after we connected a new water connection in the area.”

Anglian Water returned on Monday (January 27) to complete a “permanent reinstatement”.

Explaining the process, the spokeswoman said: “We’re required to reinstate like for like at every location where we complete work. When this isn’t possible to do immediately, we use a temporary solution and return at a later date to install the permanent solution.”

On Wednesday (January 29) the issue had been fixed.

A WNC spokeswoman said: “We’re pleased to share that Anglian Water has completed the reinstatement of paving blocks at Northampton's Market Square.

“The temporary Tarmac surface had been laid following utility works, but the area has now been neatly restored.”