Just 18 months after major enhancement work, Petersfield Town Square is undergoing repairs costing £5,000. This week a large section of walkway next to the former Co-op building had been cordoned off, hampering market stall owners as they set up for business. And it was claimed construction lorries driving through the area were partly to blame for subsiding paving stones which were causing a "tripping hazard" for shoppers. The area has been a hotspot for development in recent weeks, as clothes stores Fat Face and Laura Ashley prepare to move in. And one town councillor has acknowledged that trucks carrying building materials could have "exacerbated" the already loose paving. George Watkinson said: "The lorries could well have been one of the reasons for the work taking place - they could have exacerbated it. "But there is a lot of traffic going round that square. There is always going to be some general wear and tear." East Hampshire District Council's land and property manager, Chris Fairhead, said the work was part of a series of jobs being carried out at the Square over the next fortnight. He said: "The works are due to be completed by the end of next week. The paving is being taken out and re-laid because it was a tripping hazard. "There is also some work being done on some inbuilt lighting which has been vandalised. And some railing is also being repaired. "It is part of the road system so vehicles do use it. These are works that have become necessary since the enhancements. "It is an ongoing issue when you have got vehicles driving around that part of the town. "Approximately £5,000 is being spent - the majority on paving." Mr Fairhead said EHDC was responsible for the area rather than Hampshire County Council, which undertook the enhancement work a year and a half ago. "If it is the result of lorries, it is still just part of the road system and we have to do the work. "Maintenance costs are likely to be greater than if it was a Tarmac area," Mr Fairhead added.
