Alan wrote:

What annoys me is the vast amounts of money some councils waste. At a
cost of millions, Southend-on-Sea High Street was resurfaced in
expensive cobbles in artistic patterns. The unfriendly surface for
anyone with a disability and for anyone who is pushing children in a
buggy didn't last long. Transco dug it all up a few weeks later. It was
a planned activity to replace the main gas pipes that the council knew
about _before_ starting the refurbishment!

I am sure the same thing happened in my neck of the woods. The main
shopping street (for Chorley read a few shops and a lot of charity shops
in such a small area you would not believe) had the main street paved
with these fantastic blocks, where you are never sure which way your
foot will fall. I sometimes think that I have had too much to drink,
when I walk over them, even though I am stone cold sober in the morning.

I digress.
Part of the street was dug up to make changes to the drainage system.
Did they re-lay the original blocks? (they had a pattern to them as
yours did)
No! They commissioned new blocks and laid them after the drains were
re-fitted.

Total job time so far has been 4 months.

Dave