RESIDENTS are urging the council to leave their road alone and not spend money on ‘improvements’.

Plans are in place to resurface footpaths in William Street but neighbours say they want to keep their flagstones.

Jan Godfrey, who lives in the Northwich road, said: “How can anyone consider digging up a perfectly good section of paving to replace it with an inferior covering of tarmac?

“We have seen the awful state of the tarmac pavements in the locality and noticed the speed at which weeds penetrate this medium and when this happens it is difficult to tidy again.

“Tarmac cannot be brushed effectively and disinfected after dogs have fouled.”

Jan and her neighbour John Evans take pride in their stretch of the footpath and keep it clean and clear of weeds.

They fear that the new surface will not be as enduring as the flagstones.

John said: “A few of the neighbours are against the plans because tarmac isn’t going to be as solid.

“I could understand if the flags were all broken and up and down but they’re not.

“We’re dead against it.”

Jan said the pavement and a section of brickwork for car parking have been in place for 35 years without sinking and fears that tarmac will not last as long.

She added: “How this can be considered for council tax spending is beyond us when if you take a look at the back of the houses you can see they alleyways are in a disgusting, unhygienic state and after rain we have to paddle through the mud and cat faeces to fetch out bins back because the binmen leave them all at the end of the alley.”

A spokesman for Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) said: “We are improving the footway in William Street by replacing the existing concrete flagstones and blocks with a new bitumen surface.

“The new surface will be flexible and hardwearing, unlike the current footway which is easily damaged by vehicles parking on it.

“We have listened to the concerns of two residents who told us they would prefer to keep the flags and blocks.

“However, we have decided to proceed with the scheme on the basis that the improvements are in the best interests of the wider community.

“This scheme will also save taxpayers’ money in the longer term as the new surface will require considerably less maintenance.”