A Pendle councillor has said Virgin Media mustn't dig up recently renewed pavements to install fibre optic ducting in Barnoldswick town centre.

Coun. David Whipp stepped in (literally) when town centre traders warned him about contractors turning up with a digger to rip up the pavements.

“Over £400,000 has recently been spent renewing pavements with high quality stone flags,” said Coun. Whipp. “The 3in. (75mm) flags have been laid to a higher standard on a specialist bed of mortar to prevent them becoming loose in future. It'd be criminal to rip them up and reinstate the pavements to a lower standard.

“When I arrived, the contractors had already lifted one flag and I literally stepped onto the adjacent flags to prevent any more being lifted. This led to Lancashire County Council and Pendle Borough Council staff getting involved and eventually the contractors pulling off site for the time being.

Coun. David Whipp told Virgin Media not to dig up newly restored pavement in Barnoldswick

placeholder image — Coun. David Whipp told Virgin Media not to dig up newly restored pavement in Barnoldswick

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“Apparently the highway authority, Lancashire County Council, hasn't designated the new town centre pavements as high amenity or protected them with a legal notice that prevents routine digging up for a number of years.

“I'm asking for the county council to ban work on the new pavements and negotiate acceptable alternatives for Virgin Media's installations, such as using back streets or carriageways. Hopefully, this can be done speedily.

“The next phase of pavement renewal work is due to start in January. To prevent any needless disruption, Virgin Media is welcome to put new ducts in when this work is carried out.”