Stamford: Red Lion Square cobbles kept despite mayor's tarmac wish

Red Lion Square in Stamford has been used for filming period dramas like Middlemarch and Pride and Prejudice

The cobbled square of a Georgian market town is to be kept and updated despite opposition from its mayor who has said it should instead be tarmacked.

Stamford's Red Lion Square has previously been used as the backdrop for filming period dramas, but its cobbles have been deemed unsafe.

Mayor Gloria Johnson said replacing the cobbles was a "waste of money".

But the county council said it would instead fit robust new stones in a bid to keep the square's "heritage" look.

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Cobbles known as Yorkstone setts were installed in Red Lion Square in 2007, but over time they have been moved, lifted, or broken by vehicles.

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) leader Martin Hill said as an "historic Georgian market town full of stone buildings", the authority felt replacing the cobbles with tarmac was "really not the best solution".

Stamford's mayor, Gloria Johnson, says using tarmac instead of stone setts would save money

But the town's mayor, Councillor Gloria Johnson, said the cobbles were an "accident waiting to happen" and should not be retained just "to look pretty".

Councillor Johnson said while she "totally agrees" the setts were more aesthetic and in-keeping with their surroundings in Stamford, they were "not practical and very, very expensive".

She added that any money left from tarmacking the square could be used to repair local roads instead.

"This is totally and utterly about value for money," she said.

Lincolnshire County Council says "more robust stones" will keep the heritage aesthetic of the town's square

The council confirmed that using tarmac to cover Red Lion Square would cost £44 per sq m, while setts would cost £744 per sq m.

In total, Red Lion Square covered an area of 620 sq m, it added.

Ms Johnson said tarmac in a matching stone colour could be used instead of the proposed stone setts.

However, LCC said it would now instead invest in "a more robust type of cobble" to replace the ones currently in use.

Councillor Hill said longer lasting, easier to maintain stone and foundations would increase safety as well as maintaining the town's "heritage aesthetic".