Openreach has spoken out following criticism from Aberdeen City Council of perceived delays to utility works beneath the Castlegate redevelopment site.
The telecoms giant issued a response after council officials publicly accused the BT-owned company of holding up progress on the multi-million-pound regeneration project.
Aberdeen City Council masterplan manager Sandy Beattie told councillors last week that the council and contractor Hub North Scotland had been trying to engage with Openreach for “something like the last 12 months”.
Mr Beattie told councillors: “What I would suggest is it’s a lack of commitment from the utilities company to meet with the programme that has been shared with them for quite some time.”
However, those remarks have now prompted a response from Openreach.
An Openreach spokesperson said: “We understand the frustration around delays to a high-profile project like Castlegate, and we know how important it is to the city and the people who use the area every day.
“We’ve been working with Aberdeen City Council and its delivery partners for some time on the complex network changes needed beneath the square. This isn’t a single piece of work - there are different sections of Castlegate at different stages, and our engineering can only move forward once access, traffic management and sequencing are agreed for each part.
“That’s why our focus has been on detailed planning and regular discussions, so the work can be done safely, at the right time, and without creating unnecessary disruption for people.
“We’re committed to supporting the project and we’ll continue working with the council to agree the next steps and get on with the job as soon as conditions on site allow.”