REPAIRS to the pavement outside Storyhouse theatre in Chester have drawn the ire of some residents after a large section of the removed paving was filled in with tarmac.

The temporary fix has been questioned by some who feel that the untidy section is an eyesore outside one of the city's most popular venues.

David Hampson, a member of a community group, People for repairing and maintaining the Chester City Walls, said: "Storyhouse is one of the success stories that the Council and the Chester MP have spoken about and then that's the standard of repair that takes place outside it.

"I just think it's shocking. It's terrible."

Several residents echoed Mr Hampson's sentiments on social media, with Facebook comments referring to the patching as "a mess", "shoddy" and "unbelievable".

Cllr Simon Eardley reacted to the post, saying: "What a mess! Hopefully a temporary repair pending the completion of works." Former Cllr Jill Houlbrook simply said: "Oh my goodness!"

Symptomatic of a larger issue?

Many pointed out that this fix was a temporary one, and patches are typically put in place until another group can replace the removed flagstones. However, some are sceptical as to when these permanent repairs will be carried out.

Chester and District Standard: Commonhall Street as seen in November 2022 (left) and on Monday, September 18, 2023 (right).Commonhall Street as seen in November 2022 (left) and on Monday, September 18, 2023 (right). (Image: David Hampson)

"The problem is that the two things should be dovetailed, it's a heritage city, and if they rip the pavement up to do works it should be reinstated back to the way it was," said David.

"There's many other instances where it hasn't been reinstated. This is the issue."

David highlighted areas of the Walls which he says have been propped up with scaffolding for several years, together with a similar area of tarmac repair on Commonhall Street, albeit involving cobbles, which has been in place for at least 12 months.

"This is a city which relies on tourism and this is right outside one of its high points, Storyhouse, which has been a successful recent development.

"It's not acceptable."

In response, a spokesperson for Cheshire West and Chester Council said: "This is a temporary utility company repair.

"The full repair is expected to be completed very soon."