A beautiful market town is being ruined, locals say, as the council is ripping up its historic square to lay tarmac.
Residents of Ripon in Yorkshire have been calling for their pothole-ridden roads to be fixed for years by the council, but this might not be what they had in mind.
The council is spending £630,000 to remove paving blocks from streets and replace them with tarmac
The market place previously had traditional cobbles which were replaced with paving blocks, which enraged locals.
They now fear that covering the area in tarmac will make it “look like a car park”.
Taxi driver Bob Turner, 65, said: “They have done it numerous times. They do it and within a couple of months they dig it up again.
“They have made a right b***s up of it. Everyone I know wants rid of the slabs. They have repaired them and repaired them and repaired them.
“We have all the local attractions here. No one is bothered about what the road around the market place looks like. It is also so uneven it is a hazard for all the pensioners.”
Andrew Wyedale, 57, who runs a picture framing business in the market, said: “When I heard they were doing it again I thought they were joking.
“It causes so much disruption. A pedestrian crossing to slow down the traffic would probably be better than tearing the road up all the time.
“Hopefully, they will do it in the middle of February when no one is about. Some of the kerb stones were lifting almost as soon as they finished laying it.
“It is such a shame – all that money wasted for nothing and now there has to be more disruption. The market is already losing trade. This will be another nail in its coffin.”
Ripon council leader Andrew Williams believes there will be a ‘pristine road surface’ around the market square next year if North Yorkshire Council approves funds.
