Planning is the problem

As a Quigney resident I have watched the Court Crescent development closely (“Slow Progress in Esplanade Upgrade Hits Businesses”, DD Jul 21; “Court Crescent Development Inches Forward”, DD May 15).

Thus far the contractors have installed below-ground drainage, undertaken some earth movement, rehabilitated the existing road in front of the Spar onto the Esplanade and added a section of parking.

To blame weather for the time these works have taken is impossible using the most basic measure of all — weather records for the period.

Before I retired I worked on many infrastructure projects and the issues at play in this development are clear. It is badly planned because the design is not complete.

That is what is slowing progress. Your article drew reference to a traffic circle. Once the site of the traffic circle is decided, the rest will flow. There are highly likely additional costs as a result of not finishing all the roadworks in a single visit.

The works I have witnessed on an almost daily basis would take no longer than three months on a project properly planned and managed.

A number of activities could be carried out concurrently to ensure the roads reopen sooner and reduce economic damage to businesses.

To demonstrate the development agency’s claims, they should have shared their master programme with you. If that was done properly, it would be clear this project is months behind schedule, badly resourced and — most importantly for the ratepayer — has no financial control.

The project board does not list an independent monitoring surveyor managing costs. R25m for what has been done cannot show value for money. — Peter Bartram, Quigney