She said she was impressed with the progress so far and pleased to report Michelin was a touch ahead of schedule with the work.

“I think it’s fabulous to see where Michelin is up to already and that we’re all very conscious of the fact the intersection should be open for our summer visitors,” Cr McBain said.

She said the council had already seen people interested in the landscaping design and the general feeling was that “people are happy to finally see something happening on this site – it was fenced off for so long”.

Mr Buckley said all the feedback he’d had was positive.

“We went to considerable effort to explain what was happening – and why – well in advance,” he said on Friday.

“When people know the ‘why’ they have all been very understanding.”

Work progresses on to Market Street from Monday.