Aurs Road has been under renovation since January 2024 and was initially set to take 12 months to complete. Aurs Road has been under renovation since January 2024 and was initially set to take 12 months to complete, but it will not be completed until the spring of next year. It was described as an “ambitious” and “transformative” upgrade to the link between Barrhead and Newton Mearns, but now local businesses are calling for compensation after being hit with eight-mile diversions. Initially, the road was scheduled to be closed for 12 months, but a revised completion date for summer 2025 was announced in October. Now, locals will have to wait at least another year. The project aims to upgrade the single-carriageway road by replacing a bridge and creating a new 2.5-mile walking and cycling loop around Balgray Reservoir. The council has said that subsidence has led to the project needing to be “redesigned”. Owen O’Donnell, leader of East Renfrewshire Council, told STV News: “It’s a very complicated project. “We always knew that from the start, but there have been some unforeseen issues with the development. “Subsidence has led to us needing to redesign the project. The focus now is getting the project completed as quickly as possible and for the road to be opened safely. “We completely recognise the frustrations of residents and businesses in the area. “This is something that we didn’t want to happen, but it’s something we have to do in order to make sure that when the road is opened, it is open safely and that we deliver the project that we have anticipated, which will be transformational for East Renfrewshire. “It will open up transport routes between the East and West side of the authority and will also open up the dams to Darnley Country Park, which is a hidden gem that is actually quite inaccessible at the moment.” The local authority said that while there is not a mechanism for compensation for delays in road projects, businesses can get in touch with their economic development team for support. The works are being funded through the Glasgow Region City Deal, which includes money from the UK and Scottish Governments, as well as East Renfrewshire Council. STV News is now on WhatsAppGet all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Follow STV News on WhatsAppScan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country '+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text+' "+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title+" "+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text+" Royal Mail workers at Newton Mearns and Cumbernauld delivery offices in Scotland have spoken out against the “USO reform” pilot scheme being implemented at their workplace Delivery workers told World Socialist Web Site reporting teams last week that they were facing impossible workloads Jointly implemented by Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) the pilots are trialling an “Optimised Delivery Model” aimed at dismantling the Universal Service Obligation (USO) This follows USO reform proposals announced by Ofcom in January Ofcom’s recommendations are for downgrading the frequency and speed of mail deliveries The regulator has dismissed the USO requirement for mail deliveries six-days-a-week to 32 million UK households as an “unfair financial burden” on the company The “reform” of the USO is set to deliver £300 million worth of cuts via job destruction and changes to work practices in support of a parcel-led business under new owners EP Group led by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky Workers at Newton Mearns and Cumbernauld are being pushed into the first phase of the pilot scheme that will soon cover 37 delivery units across the UK It is the only delivery office in the pilot scheme to have gone live from the last week in February The choice of such a small delivery office to launch the pilots is telling It is being used as a test site for measures aimed at restructuring the mail service nationally The staggered implementation of the pilot scheme across 37 delivery offices from the end of March to the middle of May is designed to minimise adverse publicity from the inevitable disruption A CWU Live event in February saw Tony Bouch claim that members at pilot sites in Scotland had been well briefed and were “engaged” in the process by union reps over the CWU’s adoption of Royal Mail’s “Optimised Delivery Model” that will slash the mail service and overhaul working practices the CWU has conducted workplace polls on new duty patterns with the pilots portrayed as giving workers additional Saturdays off staff voted for the two Saturdays off every five weeks But the new duty pattern means longer working hours on weekdays and hiked up workloads Extra Saturdays are a Trojan horse being used to enforce a new benchmark of exploitation The narrow road leading up to the office was congested as delivery drivers returned to the yard Drivers said they had been unable to complete their duties based on the new route coverage model Failures were occurring even though the delivery office had its full complement of staff A far cry from the chronic understaffing which prevails at delivery offices across the UK As for the CWU’s claim that workers had been fully briefed by the CWU a postie explained: 'The main grievance everyone has is the lack of clarity The walkers are being hit hardest but we have now been informed they will only be rotated (with driving duties) every five weeks This was not what we were led to believe at the start of the pilot At Cumbernauld delivery office the pilot is earmarked to go live from March 17 the mood among postal workers was one of anger and foreboding one worker said as he rushed in and took a leaflet The general sentiment was that the CWU is untrustworthy and part of management with workers treated as fodder and moved around from their duties that tells you something,” added the postie Another postal worker spoke about conditions at the office and the need for a broader fightback The office is not clearing even before the pilot begins Duties are not covered when people are off Tracked parcels are prioritised over letters by managers We get told to take mail out and ring the manager later if we are unable to complete “The 2023 agreement [between management and union to end a long-standing dispute] was a total sellout we are working later and later and heading towards 6 p.m The majority voted for two in five Saturdays off but it does not make up for longer hours in the week and added work The new entrants are struggling to get their entitled meal breaks I've been following what has been happening in the America [US President Donald] Trump and [oligarch Elon] Musk are gutting everything I think Kretinsky is cut from the same cloth He will gut the mail service and asset strip WSWS reporters distributed copies of a Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee statement, “Call workplace meetings at Royal Mail delivery offices to oppose the USO pilots” There was strong interest in the statement with several workers signing up to receive the PWRFC newsletter At Baird Street delivery office in Glasgow (G1-5) workers reported the de facto rundown of the mail service with widespread failures and chronic understaffing meant the office was short by around 20 staff One worker asked how the mail service could be defended when similar attacks on the USO were taking place across Europe He responded positively to the call by the PWRFC for a global fightback linking workers in the post and logistics sector across Europe and North America against oligarchs and corporate vultures engaged in a looting spree across society hundreds of statements by the PWRFC and WSWS articles have been distributed at delivery offices in the pilot scheme Campaigns have also gone ahead at offices not included in the pilots including Manchester The overriding sentiment is that the CWU stands on the side of management WSWS reporters have encountered widespread support for a rank-and-file fightback to oppose Royal Mail’s corporate looting and gutting of the mail service Do you have any information about the USO reform pilots? Share your views by completing the form below. Subscribe here to the PWRFC newsletter GRAHAM Interior Fit-Out delivered a full fit out of the store The newly refurbished store re-opened in Scottish style with local highland dancers the sounds of the local pipe band and of course Marks and Spencer’s iconic percy pig in all his giant inflatable glory This significant investment is a testament to Marks and Spencer’s commitment to strive forward as a leading UK retailer we wish the new store and the team all the very best We are a privately owned company with an impressive history built on integrity and responsibility By 2024-08-30T08:14:00+01:00 Duty manager: David NorthStore: Waitrose Newton MearnsOpened: 2011Size: 25,000 sq ftMarket share: 8.8%Population: 300,182Grocery spend: £8,136,078.41Spend by household: £60.99Competitors: 66Nearest rivals: Aldi: 0.2 miles For more info visit www.caci.co.uk/contact Notes: Shopper profiling is measured using Grocery Acorn shopper segmentation For CACI’s shopper segmentation of the other stores we visited this week see the online report at www.thegrocer.co.uk/stores/the-grocer-33 This is the first one I’ve won and the first for the current team I’ve been at the partnership for nearly 24 years I moved over to the food side of the business during Covid and have been here for two-and-a-half years This is the store’s second win in three years What drives those consistently high standards We’ve got 160 partners across the shop floor They have a real mix of experience and a wealth of knowledge The partners take real pride in the atmosphere that’s created in the shop We try to make the shop feel really local – we have a lot of customers who know our partners by name We also have a lot of competitors on our doorstep which is healthy as it helps to drive footfall We have a large number of big weekly shops but equally through midweek there are more people coming in for meal deals There are no standout lines that particularly drive real volumes but there are pockets of areas in which we tend to do well We have a fantastic wine specialist in branch They actually ask when his days off are on the following week Recently we’ve put a bit of work into driving availability in our fruit & veg section particularly with sales of soft fruits like strawberries As a team we’ve worked to ensure that every area of the shop is worked to the highest standard We use our systems to ensure that we’ve got the depth of fill on the shelf and availability at all times It’s been things like just ensuring that deliveries are coming in at the right time and making sure we have the correct stock on shelf at the right times improvement in availability has been one of the biggest impacts over the past couple of years It’s generally been the same products and volumes we’d usually sell but ice creams and seasonal ranges have sold well We typically also get a spike in footfall to our café during the school holidays and schools in Scotland went back three weeks ago We’ve got some live promotions running now We’ll have treats ready to go on our seasonal aisle and at the front of store We’ll celebrate as a team with some cake and maybe some drinks later on There’s been a lot of hard work that’s gone into this Sign in to comment on this article Site powered by Webvision Cloud Learn moreExplore related questionsDiscover more about the topics that matter most Browse our suggested questions or ask your own to find out more Having completed 24 Marks and Spencer stores between 2019 and 2024 we are set to start a major makeover for the Newton Mearns store in Glasgow.Closing in June and reopening in July the investment is part of Marks and Spencer’s plan to invest £30 million in stores across Scotland The store will be converted into a fresh-market-style food hall Click here for a glimpse of how M&S have evolved over the years