Rubble rousers force changes to village rocks

Controversial boulders placed on a village green to stop vehicles will be rearranged following a string of complaints.
Councillors Celia Loughran, David Jones and George Ayre are hoping to put right the boulders on Carleton Green.Councillors Celia Loughran, David Jones and George Ayre are hoping to put right the boulders on Carleton Green.
Councillors Celia Loughran, David Jones and George Ayre are hoping to put right the boulders on Carleton Green.

More than 130 huge rocks were placed around the edge of Carleton Green in Pontefract earlier this summer to stop motorists parking on the grass.

But the boulders have attracted criticism, with some saying they look like they have been simply fly-tipped while others have jokingly nicknamed it ‘Carleton Henge’.

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It led to a meeting being held at Carleton Community Centre earlier this month, attended by more than 60 people.

This included ward councillors, Celia Loughran, George Ayre and David Jones who had initially liaised with Carleton Neighbourhood Watch group about having the stones put in place. Coun Jones admitted the move had not gone to plan, and the capital grant funding to be used to pay for the stones will not be spent until the work is done to a more satisfactory level.

Coun Jones said: “My heart sank when I first saw them, but we got onto it quickly.

“Over a period of time, parents from the nearby school have been parking on the grass and at other times people have been driving across the green.

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“The neighbourhood watch group asked us if we could give any help, a number of options were looked at and the stones were thought to be the most appropriate. But nothing seemed to have gone right.

“It’s not the most attractive of sights.”

After considering the options, the boulders will be spaced out, with the remaining stones being sold off.

A spokesman for ENGIE, the company who arranged for the stones to be placed on the green, said: “Following the installation, we were made aware that some residents were concerned about the number and size of the boulders.

“The overall consensus was to remove some of the boulders, so the ENGIE team are going back to site to complete the work.

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Resident Jenny Franklin, who attended Thursday’s meeting, said: “People thought they would be nice cut stones but they came straight from the quarry. There’s no kind of artistic thought gone into them, they look liken they’ve just been dropped off.”