Delays to the council street works in Frodsham Street cost an extra £175,000 according to a Freedom of Information response.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has made the city centre street more pedestrian-friendly as part of a £13.5m scheme to deliver a new bus station at Gorse Stacks.

Both schemes were originally due to be ready for December 2016 but there were problems including a granite setts supplier that went into liquidation. Frodsham Street was recently completed but the bus station won’t now open until June.

The new-look Frodsham Street featuring artwork on the bollards.

Matthew Rawson wrote in his FOI request: “The renovations on Frodsham Street have been lasting since late June and have overrun by many months. Please can you provide the additional costs that have been undertaken by the project due to the extra time taken to finish the work on the road?”

CWaC responded: “The cost increase associated with the bulk of the overrun, due to the liquidation of our granite supplier, is in the region of £175,000. This figure is based on the costs of the plant and equipment required, staff time and reprogramming other site operations to take into account the delay to the granite.

“There have been other smaller delays due to, for example, the discovery of shallow power cables that require lowering.”

The new-look Frodsham Street featuring artwork on the bollards.

CWaC says Frodsham Street has been transformed into a ‘shared space’ where priority is shared between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Inspired by Chester’s architecture, professional artist Katayoun Dowlatshahi has designed a series of unique bollards.

City Rail Link buses have started to use Frodsham Street, with other services potentially coming back in early May.

When the new Chester Bus Interchange opens in June, the remaining bus services will return and CWaC says Frodsham Street will ‘become an even more important gateway to the city’.