Residents blast ‘wonky’ repair job after paving stones are replaced with tarmac in historic market town

Residents of a picturesque market town have blasted “shoddy” workmen who have replaced paving stones with wonky tarmac along one of its most historic streets. Locals living in rural Oswestry, Shrops., were stunned to discover the “crazy paving” botched repair job left behind by broadband contractors last week. Workmen ripped up the original stone paving but instead of replacing them they filled the holes with tarmac, leaving an unsightly zig-zag of asphalt along the street. Shoppers and workers in the area said the eyesore is a trip hazard and branded it a “disgrace” to be in front of such a historically important building. The 25ft (7m) stretch of black tarmac runs directly alongside the Grade I listed Llwyd Mansion, which dates back to the 15th century. The town’s MP Helen Morgan also slammed the “haphazard repair work” and has written to Shropshire Council demanding answers. The authority said the work was undertaken by contractors working on behalf of Openreach who refilled the holes when the paving stones were damaged. But those living in the quaint town say nothing has been done to fix the problem since the mess was left behind last week. Dad-of-one Darren Porter, 34, of Oswestry, said: “It’s a disgrace how they have left it and it needs sorting out straight away. “This zig-zag of crazy paving is not in keeping with the historic character of the area and I just can’t believe how they made such a mess. “All they had to do was lift the stones and place them back down again and instead we are left with his absolute eyesore outside one of our most historic buildings.” A builder, who would only give his first name as Dave, said: “They’ve just gone with the cheapest fix. “In my experience from working from slabs you can just lift them off without having to break them so I don’t understand why they’ve had to do this. “It’s a mess and it’s raised in certain parts so it could be a trip hazard. “It’s in front of the second oldest building in town. Why would they do it in front of such an historic building?” Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “It’s ridiculous. It used to be lovely, the council would come down and maintain them. “The paving stones get steam cleaned twice a year. It looks horrible now.” Shopper Clare added “It’s absolutely hideous, they’ve done up a building down the road with the same workmanship. It’s so shoddy. “They need to come and fix it as soon as possible.” Lib Dem MP for North Shropshire Helen Morgan said: “Residents of Oswestry want to live in a town they can take pride in. “Sadly, that has been made a lot harder since the council installed ugly barriers that cost £8,000 a month on Church Street, and now this haphazard repair work on Cross Street. “I have written to the chief executive demanding an explanation of how this has been allowed to happen on, and what they are going to do to remedy it. “I know that local councillors, residents, and businesses are up in arms about this. “They want the best for Oswestry and deserve a proper explanation from Shropshire Council – and, more importantly, a proper solution.” A council spokesperson said that contractors undertook the work on behalf of OpenReach. A Shropshire Council spokesperson said: “Works were undertaken in Cross Street, Oswestry last week by contractors working on behalf of Openreach, and upon completion they have carried out a temporary reinstatement of the site. “The permit that was agreed gave no warning that the reinstatement would be interim, so it is extremely disappointing that given the large amount of interim reinstatement they failed to give us prior knowledge. “Unfortunately it would appear that a number of the stone slabs were damaged whilst being removed and it would not have been safe to relay these, hence the need for an interim reinstatement to keep the area safe for the public. “We completely understand the frustration of local residents, but under current national legislation utilities companies are permitted to do this type of repair provided that a permanent repair of the surface is complete within six months. “We totally understand that to wait this long will not be acceptable, and we are already taking steps to put pressure on Openreach to prioritise a permanent repair sooner than the permitted timescale. “Openreach and their contractors are currently seeking replacement stone slabs with a view to getting these relayed as soon as possible. “The area will be monitored by the council’s streetworks team and we will be in liaison with Openreach to get this area reinstated to a satisfactory state as soon as is practical.” A spokesperson for OpenReach said: “As is sometimes the case, we’ve put a temporary repair in place here to keep the pavement open and safe for local residents. “We know that the permanent fix needs to happen as quickly as possible, as the temporary tarmac is very different to the existing surface. “Yesterday (Wed) we received a number of paving stone samples that we’re …