Cockermouth's Market Place is still waiting for repair work, over seven years after more than £1 million was spent to enhance it.

Improvement work was carried out on Market Place in early 2008.

Allerdale council co-ordinated the scheme using money from the European Regional Development Fund, Cumbria County Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

But remediation works to drains, road surfacing, bollards and street lighting have still not been done.

Eric Nicholson, county, borough and town councillor, said the situation was getting worse the longer the street was left waiting for repairs.

He added: “As you come down Castlegate, cars are now bottoming out because the road’s collapsed.

“Drains are collapsing. Uplighters don’t work.

“Some of the stone pillars have been damaged or disappeared.

“The infrastructure isn’t up to standard. It’s getting gradually worse. Eventually it could become unsafe and unusable.

“The worse it gets, the more it will cost to fix.

“I’m disappointed that it hasn’t been addressed before now.

“In the long term it will be very detrimental to Market Place.

“There was a lot of money spent on Market Place and there’s no doubt it’s an improvement aesthetically.

“It seems a shame to leave it like this. The infrastructure has to be right.”

Karl Melville, county council senior manager for network management, said there was a shortfall in funding for the work.

The repairs are expected to cost around £80,000 to £85,000 but detailed costings are still being drawn up.

Allerdale council has provided some money towards the work but it is understood that there is still a shortfall of around £50,000.

Mr Melville said that, under the legal agreement surrounding the work, any faults, defects or damage arising within 12 months of the work being carried out should be undertaken by Allerdale council.

He added: “We have been in negotiations with them. They’re looking for funding. There have been discussions at political level.”

He said the legal departments at the two councils were in discussions over the issue.

The contractor that worked on the Market Place improvements, Mayfield Group, went bankrupt before remedial work could be finished.

A spokesman for Allerdale council said: “Representatives from Allerdale council and Cumbria County Council are in regular contact in a bid to resolve the Market Place repairs as soon as possible.

“Agreements are being reached in terms of funding and a detailed list of repairs is being drawn up so final costings can be agreed with a new contractor.”