WORK to make Dunster’s village centre more pedestrian friendly by replacing sections of its historic cobbles with paving slabs has begun.

The County Gazette has previously reported that the cobbles have led to people being injured, especially the elderly and people using wheelchairs or buggies.

Because no one owns the cobbles, they are in a poor state of repair and traders fear litigation if they take responsibility for repairing them.

Dunster Working Group, made up of members of Somerset County Council, the local parish council, the Highways Agency, the National Trust and Exmoor National Park Authority, suggested replacing them.

The middle section of cobbles on the Luttrell Arms side of the high street is now being replaced with natural stone paving following a public meeting which returned an overall majority in support of the idea.

A section of cobbles around a foot wide will be retained on either side of the new pathway.

A Somerset County Council spokesperson said: “Somerset County Council has been co-operating with the Dunster Working Group over many years to improve conditions for the travelling public in Dunster.

“The installation of the natural stone section through the centre of the cobbled area will provide a good quality surface for wheelchair users, pushchair users and pedestrians alike.

“As much of the cobbled area as possible will be retained so that the look of the finished scheme will be sympathetic to its historic surroundings.”

An Exmoor National Park spokesperson said it approved of the scheme because some cobbles were being preserved.