algy Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 A local parish counsellor has announced that the cobbles on Church Lane, Grappenhall are to be relaid, they are to be removed cleaned, graded and stored with a temporary tarmacadam surface laid while the fore mentioned work is carried out, the temporary surface will then be lifted and the original cobbles relaid, Yeh!! right if anyone believes that they are fools, once those cobbles come up they will never go down again, some mysterious unforeseen problem will manifest itself preventing being relaid, call me a pessimist but if past experience in this town is anything to go by it will not happen. We can kiss the cobbles goodbye folks!. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 Sounds like a load of cobbles to me! I can understand where parts of the road may have dropped creating dips some cobbles could be lifted and relaid after the surface was levelled, but not removing them all and "storing them". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 3 hours ago, algy said: A local parish counsellor has announced that the cobbles on Church Lane, Grappenhall are to be relaid, they are to be removed cleaned, graded and stored with a temporary tarmacadam surface laid while the fore mentioned work is carried out, the temporary surface will then be lifted and the original cobbles relaid, Yeh!! right if anyone believes that they are fools, once those cobbles come up they will never go down again, some mysterious unforeseen problem will manifest itself preventing being relaid, call me a pessimist but if past experience in this town is anything to go by it will not happen. We can kiss the cobbles goodbye folks!. And say hello to potholes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algy Posted March 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 2 hours ago, grey_man said: And say hello to potholes So true! GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 Oooh I'm not really liking the sound of that one bit and as you say Algy I too fear that 'unforseen circumstances' in the not so distant future could mean they never go back. Maybe it will be lack of funding or costs that prevents the relaying or maybe they will find when they take them all up after them sitting there for hundreds of years there are 'issues'... Who knows perhaps after not having to drive or walk over them some people will say it's actually better without them and cause a stink saying they don't want them back. Saying all that it's a conservation area so permission will have to be sought to remove them and conditions will probably be there saying they have to be put back ie stay. Unless of course they are replaced with new modern but with the same sort of old style 'look'. On the plus side maybe they will lay cobbles in all the areas along the cobble stretch which have been botch infilled with blobs of tarmac as those quick fixes look a righ mess and spoil it all. Have they give an idea of how long it will take to remove, clean, grade and then relay them? Why do they have to 'grade' them? I guess if it's only a month or two things could be ok though.... it's quite a big job though when you look just how many cobbles there are. (I just google streetwalked it). The old original cobbled road is part of Grappenhall Villages charm so I'm sure it will be ok and we are worrying for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 Is Grappenhall Parish Council paying for this work or Warrington? I have to ask because today I got my annual ransom demand Council Tax bill with the usual complaints of lack of funds, government cutbacks, austerity etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 Quote Why do they have to 'grade' them? possibly to check for wear and size so that they don't look too uneven when relaid. A cobbled street will last much longer than any tarmac but it is not very cycle friendly. A great advantage for horses thought as the cobbles provide extra grip for them. They could be an advantage given the new electric cars coming to the market as any vehicle going over cobble swill make a lot more noise than on a tarmac surface and so make it easier for pedestrians to hear them. however I now have an image in my head of cobble graders in white coats and bowler hats like the flour graders in the advert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 Thanks for the explanation re 'grading' Evils. That makes sense. Saying that most have been there for hundreds of years though and are worn and settled in their positions with each other so why don't they just write numbers on them before they take them up and put them back in the same position . Bet that would be fun to do too like a huge big outdoor jigsaw....maybe the locals could join in... I too have strange images in my head now of cobble graders after reading the rest of your reply..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 The cowboys who currently lay the tarmac in Warrington can't even get that right, so what hope is there that they will be able to lay cobbles? a job that involves a lot more skill, patience and time (and therefore cost) than driving a machine and pressing a few buttons.... Grappenhall will be lucky to see them again if they are lifetd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Specialst Aggregates appears to be the company chosen to advise on the Grappenhall cobbles. http://www.specialistaggregates.com/grappenhalls-million-cobbled-road-n-123.html They have given their version of the history of the cobbled road. Algy, do you have any information on the history of this road? I remember reading a geologists report, I think it was circa 1860's where the cobbles were identified as originating in France and having been washed along the Mersey were found locally, from where the Mersey tributaries had originally extended into what is now Grappenhall / Appleton area. If this is true then the contractors version could be just a load of old cobblers. ( their version makes any necessary replacements easier to come by though). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 they did say that it was just a hypothesis in fairness (a guess) so they are probably willing to take any reliable proof of otherwise into consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algy Posted March 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2018 Sha, sorry I have no information regarding the history of Church Lane, indeed that is the first time I have heard that the cobbles originated from France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 Thanks, Algy. I'll have to try to find the source of that info again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 Hope these cobbles don't go the same way as the Forge machinery after being placed in 'safe storage'. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
algy Posted March 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2018 Sha, I am hopeful that the exercise comes to fruition however with the councils track record I am not confident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted March 28, 2018 Report Share Posted March 28, 2018 I wonder what checks will be put in place to ensure that there are no "unforeseen" incidents or sudden increases in cost due to "factors beyond our control". I also wonder who's name will be on the documentation as being accountable if anything does go awry and what "penalty clauses" and "get out clauses"will be put in "just in case". When it comes to maintenance this council has at best a poor record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted March 28, 2018 Report Share Posted March 28, 2018 A poor record is better than no record at all I suppose . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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