New 'no' to Chinese stone in St George's Square

Aug 28 2008 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

New ‘No’ to granite from China

GOVERNMENT adviser English Heritage has stepped into the growing row over Kirklees Council’s use of Chinese granite in Huddersfield’s historic St George’s Square.

The Government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment is warning against using Chinese granite in the Victorian square, which is in a conservation area and fronted by significant listed buildings, including the grade-one listed station.

Kirklees Council is installing 750 tonnes of the stone in the square as part of a £4m revamp, ripping up Victorian-style setts installed in a refurbishment 16 years ago.

Kathryn Gibson of English Heritage has written to the council expressing concerns about the use of Chinese granite which has cost £215,000.

She said: “St George’s Square is an important public space in Huddersfield and is fronted by a number of significant listed buildings.

“It is important that any work relates well to these buildings and reinforces their historic context and local distinctiveness.

“We are concerned that the use of granite setts will introduce a non-conforming material into the Huddersfield conservation area and will be detrimental to the setting of the railway station.”