Contractor criticised for being ‘slow’ to refurbish bus shelters

WORK to complete the refurbishment of 12 bus shelters in Henley has been “slow” and left “partially finished” by contractors.

The town council hired Externiture to renovate the shelters in and around the town centre, which have been in place for 15 years.

It agreed to spend £13,907 last year to replace seven shelters on Reading Road, two in Greys Road and one each in Hart Street, Station Road and Harpsden Road.

Paul Carey, the council’s town centre manager, has been chasing for an update on when the work will be completed after it found some shelters had been started but left unfinished.

The company has also been sent photographs of instances where it felt the paint finish was unsatisfactory.

Councillor Glen Lambert told a meeting of the council’s town and community committee that the Externiture had been “very slow” at responding.

“It’s not good and it’s getting worse,” he said. “It needs to be resolved.”

Councillor Gill Dodds said: “Every day I go by the one in Station Road, which is beautiful, but the panel in the middle lets the whole thing down. It’s such a pity because we have done 95 per cent of the work.”

Town clerk Sheridan Jacklin-Edward said: “I think Paul is being asked on a daily basis either by me or other people about it and he is putting pressure on the contractor. It is very high on the list.

“It’s clear that it’s a half-done job. Unfortunately, that’s what’s really frustrating. It would be good for it to be dilapidated rather than a half-done job.” Externiture apologised for the delay. It said: “The programme is still ongoing, with nine of the 12 shelters now completed. The remaining three shelters will be completed by Friday, July 18.

“All completed installations have met the required standard and passed quality control checks.”

The company said it would be “happy to meet with the council once the works are completed”.

It said: “We have recently been trying to get hold of Henley Town Council and have left three voicemails and offered to meet them on site to evaluate works completed and discuss timelines but have not heard back.

“We have not received any photos from the council with alleged painting issues. We are more than happy to meet with the council once works are completed to make sure they are fully satisfied with all works.

“We fully recognise the importance of delivering value in publicly-funded projects and remain committed to completing the works to a high standard. We apologise that work has taken longer than expected.”