Anger grows as yet more flagstones stripped from historic street

The historic shopping strip is adorned with independent businesses.

Work began in St Augustines on Tuesday, February 8 to remove a section of paving from outside Easton Pottery.

And it continued as workmen appeared again on Tuesday, February 15 on the opposite side of the street, with more staff removing tiles two days later.

A Norfolk County Council representative stated that the disruption was the last of the planned works.

Works to remove flagstones in St Augustines Street closed the footpath for a number of hours (Image: Maya Derrick)

Jessica Fellas of florists Jipola said she was not notified of any works due to take place outside her business.

She said: "I was just a little bit perplexed as to why.

Jessica Fellas with a selection of her home-grown dried flowers in her florist shop Jipola at St Augustines Street. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant 2021)

"It sticks out like a sore thumb.

"There's no vision. There's no foresight into design or architectural keeping. It really does affect business.

The flagstones were laid as part of St Augustines Street's regeneration just over a decade ago (Image: Maya Derrick)

"They should really replace them with more flagstone paving, rather than black tarmac."

Laura Budds, owner of Norfolk Retro added: "I have no idea why they thought that was appropriate or in-keeping with the rest of the street.

"I feel that if this was one of the Norwich Lanes, they wouldn't be sticking a big bit of tarmac down. We deserve to have that same level of care and attention.

Laura Budd, 39 is the shops owner. (Image: Laura Budd)

"How temporary is temporary? It'll just be forgotten now. As far as they're concerned, it's been addressed.

"I can't imagine that we'll have people turning up any time soon and replacing flagstones.

"Norwich is a historic city, and we're meant to value that nature. St Augustines is a historic street, so it should be treated with the same attention to detail."

Flagstones that line St Augustines Street have been ripped up, smashed and replaced with black tarmac (Image: Maya Derrick)

In a previous statement, highways area manager, Andy Ellis, said: "It was necessary to apply a temporary asphalt surface to keep the pavement safe to use and accessible to all users.

“Reinstating the paving is part of our future planning but we need to prioritise other work where safety and access are at risk, so the work currently has no firm date."

There are now two patches of pavement in St Augustines Street lined with tarmac, rather than flagstones (Image: Maya Derrick)