Council to tear up historic cobbles

A historic Yorkshire marketplace will have its cobbles ripped up and replaced with modern block paving after they were deemed unsuitable for disabled people.

East Riding council said the traditional stones in Beverley's Saturday Market could "cause problems for visitors and residents with disabilities" and has ordered crews to dig them up next week.

English Heritage has strongly advised against the plan and urged the council to keep the cobbles, which historians believe are at least 175 years old and probably date back to the 1700s.

The conservation body said the traditional surface is "important to the historic character" of the market town, which is popular with day-trippers and tourists.

Residents have held 500-strong marches through the market square and presented petitions containing almost 1,000 names in a bid to halt the work.

However, town hall bosses said work will go ahead after they consulted community groups, including members of a disability advisory group, which were in favour of removing the stones.

History professor Barbara English, of Beverley Civic Society, said it was a "hugely disappointing" and short-sighted decision in the face of "an overwhelming amount of opposition".

Nigel Leighton, director of environment and neighbourhood services at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said the cobbles "can cause problems for less _able-bodied people or those using wheelchairs and prams"_.

He said a number of community groups, including the town council, chamber of trade and the Disability Advisory Monitoring Group were consulted.