A SECTION of Dunster's historic street cobbles could be removed under plans to make the medieval village centre more pedestrian friendly.

Under proposals being put forward by the Dunster Working Group the middle section of cobbled pavement on the East, or Luttrell Arms Hotel side, of the High Street would be replaced with natural stone paving.

A strip of cobbles on each side, about a foot wide, would be retained.

The changes are aimed at improving access for the disabled and elderly, wheelchair users and people with buggies as well as local residents.

Paul Toogood, chairman of the working group - which includes representatives from the Exmoor National Park Authority, West Somerset Council, Dunster Parish Council, Somerset County Council and local organisations - said the plans also involved repairing the cobbles on the other side of the street.

"We are just trying to improve the village for people who live here, as well as the visitors," he said.

"At the moment access is not easy to shops or homes on the east side. It's incredibly hazardous and we've had to call the ambulance out five times this year because of accidents.

"The problem is that the cobbles are effectively a no man's land - no-one owns them and consequently they haven't been repaired for years."

Mr Toogood, who owns the Luttrell Arms and was brought up in Dunster, said when he was a child residents tended to maintain the cobbled pavements outside their homes.

"The difficulty now is that we live in a very litigious world and if anyone does anything to the cobbles, they would find themselves responsible if there was an accident."

Local efforts to identify ownership of the cobbled pavements has proved fruitless - in the past it is thought they formed part of the Luttrell Estate before parts of it were sold off.

But Mr Toogood said the county council, which at the moment refused to accept responsibility for the maintenance of the pavement on the east side, had indicated it would take it over if the work was carried out to an agreed specification.

However, the authority had made it clear that merely lifting and relaying the cobbles along that section would not be adequate.

The work on both sides of the High Street is expected to cost at least £100,000 and if the working group decides to press ahead - a final decision will be made in November - a bid for funding would be made to LARC - Local Action for Rural Communities.

Any shortfall would be met by the working group.

Mr Toogood said all the businesses and residents on the east side of the street had been contacted and told about the proposals.

"They have all given their support," he said.

Robin Dasgupta, who runs the Castle Coffee House, said he was perfectly happy with the proposals.

"At the moment the pavement is really dangerous. No-one is maintaining the cobbles and something really needs to be done to make it easier for people to get to the shops and their homes."

However, Dunster Marsh resident Donna Richards described the plans to replace the cobbles as a disgrace.

She said she had lived in the village for 16 years, had spent her childhood there and now had children of her own.

"Apparently we have a problem of conflict between cars and pedestrians," she said.

"I very often walk through the village with a pushchair and young child and, yes, I agree repairs need to be made to the cobbles.

"But I don't see them as a problem - certainly not a problem worthy of replacement.

"It is vital to keep the history of the village as it is - it is more important now, more than ever, to keep the character.

"In generations past these cobbles have been left for us to see and experience so why do we have the right to take it away from future generations?"

Miss Richards said the idea of replacing them was an unimaginative and slapdash solution to a problem that did not exist.

She questioned how many businesses and residents favoured the proposals and said the number of accidents caused by the cobbles should be made public.

But Mr Toogood said he wished people who had objections would contact the working group to find out exactly what was proposed.

The scheme has been drawn up following a report by consultant Ben Hamilton-Baillie last year which looked at ways of dealing with the issues of shared space between cars and pedestrians in Dunster.

Mr Toogood said a number of public meetings had been held in the last couple of years on the problems and ways of resolving them.

"I wish people would come and speak to us directly if they have concerns.

"I feel passionately about this - we will be replacing these cobbles with proper stone, it won't be uniform and it will look good, as well as being a good deal safer."

If the High Street proposals go forward and funding is secured, the working group hopes to eventually tackle the repair of the cobbles in Church Street and West Street.