A HAWORTH resident said he fears the result of a costly, painstaking project to restore the surface of the village’s historic Main Street is being eroded.

Antony Medd, 67, said parts of Main Street were not being returned to their original state following work by utility companies.

He said this meant the successful outcome of the £600,000 scheme to improve the street’s battered surface – begun in 2011 – is being jeopardised.

Mr Medd, who is retired and walks along Main Street most days, explained contractors were using much lighter coloured material between replaced setts, leaving bits of the street looking out of character with the rest of the surface.

“When they dug the street up for the major repairs a few years ago they did a really good job,” he added. “They made sure they used exactly the same material between the setts for the full length of the street.

“But now we’re in danger of returning to the patchwork mess the street was in before the repairs.”

Mr Medd said he queried the quality of the work being done with contractors digging up part of the street in early November.

“I said to them I hoped they’d be using the same material to fill in the gaps between the setts as was used before, to ensure like-for-like replacement,” he said. “But the response I got was ‘we’ll use what we’ve been given.’”

Mr Medd said the outcome was that this part of Main Street, along with two other patches lower down the slope, now look different to the rest of the surface.

A spokesman for Bradford Council responded: “Reinstatements are carried out to a set specification, but variances in colour will always occur when a road surface is disturbed.

“It should be noted that the mix and colour of the mortar may vary on a batch by batch basis and the colour of the mortar will change naturally over time.

“The authority provides advice and guidance to contractors working on Main Street, and will act to ensure appearance is kept in kind with the surrounding area as closely as possible.”

Worth Valley Ward councillor Rebeccca Poulsen said: “I’ve not had any concerns raised with me about recent work on Main Street, but it’s possible people are going directly to the council.

“Any work done by utility companies must be inspected by Bradford Council highways to make sure the reinstatement is done properly.

“There are rules on how the work in Main Street is meant to be carried out.”

Cllr Poulsen said it was most important that the individual setts are relaid correctly following any work, noting that it is not always easy to ensure the material between the setts looks exactly the same as what was used in 2011.

Cllr David Mahon, chairman of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council, said: “As a parish council we’ll speak to Bradford Council and request them to contact the utility companies to ask them to be very careful with the materials they use.

“It is a conservation area, so they do need to preserve its character.”