AN ELECTRICAL company has sparked anger after a conservation area in Wigan was torn up and filled with tarmac.

Paving stones in Golborne’s High Street were removed while work was carried out by Electricity North West (ENW) to repair underground cables.

Work has now finished but instead of replacing the beautiful stones, a section of the street has been filled … with Tarmac.

Ward Coun Mark Klieve is furious and says that local residents share his anger.

He said: “This is an outrageous act, that totally disrespects the conservation area, the community and our residents.

“We will be writing to the Service Director for Planning and Environment to ask him to fully investigate this and ensure that the repair is put back to the original standard.”

Coun Yvonne Klieve added: “We have had a number of angry residents contacting us on the phone to complain about this repair and I fully understand their anger.

“It’s not fair when money is invested into our community to make it a better cleaner place to live and then it is ruined.

“They must return and put right this wrong, otherwise what is the point of having a conservation area.”

A spokesman for ENW said the surfacing was a temporary measure while more replacement paving stones are ordered.

He stressed that the paving would be returned to its original state. However, the spokesman could not confirm when that would be.

He said: “Engineers have been working in High Street since mid-July to repair underground electric cables following a fault.

“Work has been completed at three sites on the street, which required temporary traffic lights and repairs were finished on Wednesday.

“Two of the excavations were filled in with paving stones in keeping with the street. The third site was filled with Tarmac as a temporary measure while more paving stones are ordered.”

Golborne town centre was made a conservation area by Wigan Council in 2008.

The authority has stated it is keen to advise private companies about repairs in conservation areas and an investigation has been launched.

Mark Tilley, Wigan Council’s head of highways, said: “The essence of a conservation area is its special character. We aim to preserve this by not allowing development which would erode this character.

“As this work has been carried out within the Golborne High Street conservation area, we would expect that any lifting of paving flags or tiles should be replaced with a like-for-like material, or reused where possible.

“This is the advice we would give if consulted on any proposed works within any conservation area, although private companies like this are under no obligation to tell us.

“I have assured both Coun Mark and Coun Yvonne Klieve that we are inspecting the site and seeking an early resolution.”