NEW stones outside a Huddersfield landmark are “brash”, according to a councillor.
Clr Christine Stanfield is unhappy at the Chinese granite slabs installed outside the station in St George’s Square, a conservation area.
The new granite stones outside the Head of Steam are a patchwork of grey, pink and white in contrast to the surrounding beige Yorkstone. They replace stone setts installed just 16 years ago in the last redesign of the square.
Clr Stanfield, who represents Lindley on Kirklees Council, said: “The colours are quite brash, they don’t match the local stone and I think the end result could be very odd.
“Residents have already been in touch with me to say that they think the granite looks wrong. It does look very odd against the backdrop of our magnificent buildings such as the George Hotel and the station itself.”
Kirklees is spending £215,000 on hundreds of tonnes of Chinese granite as part of the redevelopment of St George’s Square.
Clr Stanfield said: “If just a small patch of the granite looks so out of place the effect of 750 tonnes could be quite extreme.”
The Lib Dem criticised the council’s ruling Conservatives for importing stone from abroad.
She said: “Why we couldn’t have used locally-quarried materials instead of shipping this stuff half way across the planet I really don’t know.”
But Clr Ken Sims, the Kirklees Cabinet member for regeneration, claimed the new stone would soon fit in with the surroundings.
He said: “Great care was taken when designing this scheme to get something which is sensitive to the square and its fine neo-classical buildings.
“The colours were chosen to complement those within the square. In amongst the existing Yorkstone are many pink granite stones which have darkened over time. The new pink stones will soften over time.”
Clr Sims said Chinese granite was a good long-term investment. He said: “Yorkstone is softer and absorbs water, dirt and chemicals much easier than granite. The new stones will last longer and reduce the long-term maintenance. The existing Yorkstone often needs repairing and has sometimes become dangerous to pedestrians.”
