Campaign to keep the cobbles in Cambridge market

Campaigners have launched a petition to have the cobbles on the city’s market reset following suggestions the square could be resurfaced to make it cleaner and more accessible.

At a public meeting, the city council leader, Cllr Lewis Herbert, said the cobbles were hard to clean and the square needed to be more accessible to disabled visitors.

However, The Friends of Cambridge Market have already gained more than 360 signatures to a petition to save the cobbles.

Market trader Glenys Self, who organised the petition, said: “The cobbles are like a beautiful old Persian carpet – they have a magical feel of age and depth and we can feel all the better for seeing and walking on.”

She added that if the cobbles are a problem for wheelchair users or cause issues for street cleaners, they should be re-laid in order to preserve them.

“The cobbles are a huge part of the historic character of the market. A lot of people are very upset at the thought they could be lost,” she said.

“We would like to see the city council reset the cobbles so they work for everyone and so the square retains its natural beauty. They are a lovely pink granite and bring a feeling of warmth to the site.”

Cllr Rosy Moore, the council’s executive councillor for environmental services and city centre, said: “We are not focused on the cobbles – we are looking at the whole square and what we can do to improve it. Some of the traders and residents seem worried that it might mean getting rid of the cobbles – it might do. It might not.”

She added that the council wanted to address problems with the electricity supply to the market, the cleaning and waste disposal on the square and the possibility of using the area at night for events.

Cllr Moore said: “It’s totally understandable as the market is the traders’ livelihood and it possibly feels out of control, but we want to keep a great seven-day-a-week market and take it into the future, making it more pleasant for shoppers and traders. And we want more people to be able to use the space outside of market hours.

“We want to make the most of what is a good space.

“I’m pretty sure the plan would never be to tarmac it. I don’t think anyone would vote for that.”