Petition launched to save Ironbridge riverside paving

Telford & Wrekin Council wants to replace flags at the Wharfage and Tontine Hill with block paving, but town residents have now started a petition against this.

Almost 200 people signed the petition within 24 hours of its launch, and that number has now reached 400.

The council says the cost of maintaining the current Yorkstone would run to £300,000, but campaigners say the stone makes up the colour palette of the gorge and closely matches the stonework used in the bridge.

Campaigners have criticised the council's consultation on the scheme, saying that it did not offer people the option to choose the replacement for the current stone.

Ironbridge resident Christopher Dale, who launched the petition, said: "

My main issue is with the consultation process, they said they were going to ask residents and visitors what the wanted, but actually they only gave them the option of two different types of block paving."

The money for the work is coming from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, though Mr Dale says he feels the work to remove the stones and add the blocks is not sustainable as the work will have a huge carbon footprint.

He also said he has seen a report commissioned by the council, which says that 75 per cent of the existing paving can simply be reset, on a more substantial sub-base, whilst the remaining 25 per cent could be replaced with similar reclaimed stone.

Council spokesman Russell Griffin said: "We are aware of the petition. We hope that people understand the existing material has suffered extensive damage and is extremely expensive and difficult to maintain.

"The Yorkstone was originally laid circa 1980 and is not an historic feature of the site. The paving option has been extremely well received during consultation and is seen as an appropriate replacement material. The current stone is not a locally sourced material and is not representative of the types of materials used in Ironbridge prior to it being laid."

He added: "If we were to address all existing issues and retain the current Yorkstone, it would cost £300,000 more than the plan to replace the current footways with new paving and would continue to be a high cost maintenance burden. The £380,000 to provide the new clay block paving is a significant investment."

• See the petition at change.org/p/save-ironbridge-stone-pavements

• The council gives more information on why it made its decision at www.telford.gov.uk/ironbridgefootways