A misunderstanding between two contractors working on the �8m street enhancement programme in Letchworth GC has been slammed by two businessmen. It follows an incident when Skanska, which has overall control of the contract in Leys Avenue, finished layin

A misunderstanding between two contractors working on the �8m street enhancement programme in Letchworth GC has been slammed by two businessmen.

It follows an incident when Skanska, which has overall control of the contract in Leys Avenue, finished laying expensive York stone slabs. But 24 hours later, Veolia Water said they would have to be dug them up in places because water meters had not been fitted.

A Veolia Water engineer then sprayed blue paint on some of the pristine York stones underneath where the meters will be fitted.

This week Stephen White at Martins Furniture shop, who has one of the blue paint blots outside his front door, said: "Haven't businesses in Leys Avenue suffered enough after eight months of disruption? Now we have this mess.

"It beggars belief what has happened. The York stone was down for 24 hours then we were told some areas would have to be dug up because water meters had not been fitted as planned. The contractors didn't get their act together.

"This beautiful �100 a square metre York stone has now been sprayed with blue paint in two places and it looks awful."

Paul Roberts at Planfit Kitchens said: "It is a farce. We have been told Veolia will be covering the holes they make with tarmac so I suppose that will mean it will have to be dug up again and replaced by stone.

"This will mean more disruption."

A Veolia Water spokesman said: "Veolia Water is undertaking remedial work in Leys Avenue. Major projects such as the redevelopment being done in the area can cause minor issues with some of our apparatus.

"For instance, some access points require attention and some water meters need replacing. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. However, we will continue to work closely with the contractor and will ensure that any affected areas are fully reinstated once these works are complete."

A spokesman for Skanska said: "We can confirm that we were aware of Veolia's plans for new water meters in Leys Avenue. However, on this occasion it was not possible to co-ordinate the two sets of works.