New paving slabs in medieval village to be ripped out as they are "too blue"
Roshina Jowaheer
FILE PICTURE - Stone slabs replacing the cobbled pathway in front of houses and businesses in West Street, Dunster. Paving slabs which replaced iconic cobbles in an historic medieval village are to be removed by a cash-strapped council at a cost of �45,000 - because they are "too blue". See SWNS story SWPAVING. The original stones which dated back to the Bronze Age was torn from a main road in Dunster, Somerset, to improve pedestrian safety and disabled access. The stones were replaced with blue-hued slabs, which locals complained were too blue, angular, regular, smooth and "like a path on a new housing estate". Villagers accused the council of 'vandalism' and Historic England was furious that it was not consulted before the work began. Now, just ten months later, the council has agreed to change the paving slabs to stones which are more in-keeping with the village - at a cost to taxpayers of �45,000. It comes after the cash-strapped Tory approved budget cuts of �16 million earlier this year.
New paving slabs which replaced the iconic cobbles in historic village Dunster are to be removed by a cash-strapped council at a cost of £45,000 because they are "too blue".
The original stones, which dated back to the Bronze Age, were torn from a main road in the Somerset village to improve pedestrian safety and disabled access.
They were replaced with blue-hued slabs, which locals complained were too blue, angular, regular, smooth and "like a path on a new housing estate".
FILE PICTURE - The cobbled streets in Dunster, Somerset with a new path way made out of flag stones. Paving slabs which replaced iconic cobbles in an historic medieval village are to be removed by a cash-strapped council at a cost of �45,000 - because they are "too blue". See SWNS story SWPAVING. The original stones which dated back to the Bronze Age was torn from a main road in Dunster, Somerset, to improve pedestrian safety and disabled access. The stones were replaced with blue-hued slabs, which locals complained were too blue, angular, regular, smooth and "like a path on a new housing estate". Villagers accused the council of 'vandalism' and Historic England was furious that it was not consulted before the work began. Now, just ten months later, the council has agreed to change the paving slabs to stones which are more in-keeping with the village - at a cost to taxpayers of �45,000. It comes after the cash-strapped Tory approved budget cuts of �16 million earlier this year.
Villagers accused the council of "vandalism" and Historic England was furious that it was not consulted before the work began. Now, just ten months later, the council has agreed to change the paving slabs to stones which are more in-keeping with the village.
FILE PICTURE - Cobbled pathway in front of houses and businesses in West Street, Dunster. The cobbles, right, are being replaced by brighter toned stone slabs. Paving slabs which replaced iconic cobbles in an historic medieval village are to be removed by a cash-strapped council at a cost of �45,000 - because they are "too blue". See SWNS story SWPAVING. The original stones which dated back to the Bronze Age was torn from a main road in Dunster, Somerset, to improve pedestrian safety and disabled access. The stones were replaced with blue-hued slabs, which locals complained were too blue, angular, regular, smooth and "like a path on a new housing estate". Villagers accused the council of 'vandalism' and Historic England was furious that it was not consulted before the work began. Now, just ten months later, the council has agreed to change the paving slabs to stones which are more in-keeping with the village - at a cost to taxpayers of �45,000. It comes after the cash-strapped Tory approved budget cuts of �16 million earlier this year.
Councillor David Fothergill told the BBC: "I believe it is right to go with the majority and remodel the paving while also retaining the improved safety features which have been so welcomed, particularly by accessibility groups.
"What I hope now is that everyone can get behind this decision."
Dunster is situated in the hills of the Exmoor National Park and is one of the best-preserved medieval villages in England, with over 200 listed buildings.
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