Refurbishment of Corcrain Shops could take six months

Independent Councillor David Jones branded the delay ‘totally unacceptable’.

Cllr Jones said he was concerned at the delay particularly for the elderly who relied on them.

However the Northern Ireland Housing Executive blamed the delays on ‘health and safety’ issues.

Cllr Jones said he had been trying to find out from the NIHEwhat exactly is the cause for the delay in this work.

He said: “What concerns me is that various residents in the area say it appears no work is taking place.

“At a time when we are on the run up to Christmas these shops have been important to the area, especially for the elderly who cannot always make their way to the major supermarkets and town centre shops.

“I want to seek an explanation for the delay and to get this work sorted as soon as possible so the shops can get up and running again,” said the Independent Councillor.

A spokesperson for the Housing Executive said: “The Housing Executive can confirm that there has been a delay in the scheme to improve commercial premises at Corcrain, Portadown.

“During an early stage, further necessary health and safety works were identified and in order to resolve these we have put the date for completion back to May 2019,” said a spokesperson.

“This will be a great new facility for the community and, whilst the extra work is unavoidable, we apologise to local residents for the delay,” the NI Housing Executive spokesperson concluded.