Following my complaint to Wakefield Council I have received a reply. This states: Dear Mr Tony Howell Thank you for taking the time to complete a feedback form after your visit to Sandal Castle. I am very sorry that your visit was spoilt by the looseness of the path material. The improvements at Sandal have been designed to improve access and to preserve the monument, although I appreciate that the path surface is not yet compacted enough for wheelchair users. As Sandal Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument we are restricted regarding the path surface materials that we can use. A porous surface is required as this aids the preservation of the buried archaeology. In addition we are unfortunately unable to alter the profile of the path surface as it follows the historic contours of the earthworks which are protected as part of the monument. The gravel used is self-binding crushed limestone. It was rolled as it was installed but unfortunately since then we had little rain meaning that the surface has become loose. Over the next few weeks as more people use the site and if there is more rain the surface will bed down to a hard porous surface. We have used the same material at Pontefract Castle and the path surface there is now firm and easy for wheelchair users to use. Once again may I apologise for the fact that you were disappointed today and hope that this does not put you off visiting again and that if you do visit again you find the path surface much improved. Meanwhile, following your feedback I have arranged for a warning about the current status of the paths to be posted on the Sandal Castle page on Wakefield Councils website. Yours sincerely Ben Cook Service Manager - Markets, Major Events and Tourism Thoughts please especially about this reply and the fact that I pointed out that no consultation had taken place but this has not been addressed in the reply! What does everyone think?
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 07:16:46 +0000
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