BUNGLING contractors have been blasted for wasting money after a road was resurfaced twice in two weeks.

Workers first resurfaced Nelson Street in Southend and put down double yellow lines and repainted parking bays two weeks ago.

However, a week later, workers have ripped out part of it towiden the footpath and resurfaced some of it again.

Businesses occupying the road have faced severe disruption as clients and workers are unable to park and have called roadworks a “farce”.

Nigel Holdcroft, a partner at Nelson Street solicitors Tolhurst Fisher, said: “We knew the plan was to resurface the road and widen the footpath because there are trees close to the edge of the road, but we were mystified when they resurfaced the road before doing the edges.

“Then a gang turned up to start expanding the footpath and expressed their surprise. The work has proceeded at a chronically slow pace and this morning a team scraped off half the new road surface that was put in two weeks ago, but they’ve not done the east side of the road.

“They’ve done the west side of the road again where the footpath is yet to be widened . Presumably when that work is done the twice laid road will be resurfaced yet again. As a businessman, I look out of my window and watch all this money being thrown away.

There is no logic to it at all.”

Debbie Cockerton, a partner at DCA Business Recovery, in Nelson Street, said: “It’s been very disruptive. If they worked 9am to 5pm and had less tea breaks they might have finished.

“If we have visitors they have nowhere to park and I haven’t been able to park on our forecourt.

Now they are resurfacing again and the smell is terrible. We can’t have the windows open.

“I can’t understand why they haven’t done some of this after business hours or at weekends.

Most of this street is occupied by businesses and its been very disruptive.

They are typical workmen with one doing the work and two others watching, so it’s no wonder it’s taking so long.”

Mark Brudenell, audit manager at chartered accountants Rickard Keen, said: “If you were being cynical you might think they started the work at the end of March and then did no further work until April 7 so that the it all goes on last year’s budget, because once you start work it counts from then.”

Andy Lewis, corporate director for Place, said: “The road in Nelson Street was recently resurfaced by the council’s appointed specialist resurfacing contractor.

“Due to mechanical difficulties with one of the road surfacing machines, the quality of the new surfacing on the western side was rejected by council engineers who have arranged for the contractor to correct the defective areas of the work at their expense.”