Same intro - different opinion,
please read on . . .

Paddys Market must be one of the best kept secrets of the Glasgow Tourists Board.

Originally initiated for the poor of Glasgow in the nineteenth century it is still in existence today.

Sited on the Bridgegate, near the river Clyde, the market runs every day except Sunday. The main hub of the market is situated under railway arches beneath the track which runs down from Glasgow Cross and across the river.

To Read the new opinion,
Please Start here;

As you can see;
I’ve written on these pages in the past on the treasure that is Paddy’s Market.

This opinion is what might be considered an up-date.

Glasgow’s evening paper, The Evening Times, printed an excellent article in last Friday’s edition. It was a fair and balanced report on the alterations and improvements to the drainage, which Railtrack want to carry out in the main lane of Paddy’s Market.

To help anyone gain a better understanding of what is happening, it is best that I explain the way the lane is laid out.
Down one side of the lane is a tarmac strip which has been in place since the building of a new court building, some two years or so ago.
Down the remaining side of the market’s main lane is a run of cobbles which it is believed have been there since the eighteen hundreds.

Railtrack, in their wisdom, want to lift the cobbles in order to replace the drainage, a job which is much needed, - the resulting problems causing discomfort and dismay for even the most hardened Paddy’s regular.
What is causing more than a little displeasure is that Railtrack have said that they want to replace the cobbles with tarmac.
Some of the lease-holders and traders are in favour as, if the lane was tarmaced over, it would allow them to bring in heavier goods to their stalls.
On the other hand, some traders see Railt
rack’s intended action as being a little over zealous, they say that it is not the cobbles that are the problem, simply the unevenness of the lane.
These particular traders would prefer that the cobbles, a part of Glasgow’s heritage, are re-laid after the new drainage is in place.
Railtrack say that, because the join between the cobbles and the tarmac would cause problems, they need to remove the cobbles.

There is no existing problem with regard to the existing join between cobbles and tarmac.

Surely, the problem is with the drains and the resulting unevenness of the lane -
not with the existing combination of tarmac and cobbles?

What strikes me is that there could be another reason for Railtrack’s proposed actions.

The architectural salvage business is, I believe, thriving and profitable.

This leads me to a question to which I do not have an answer -
(perhaps some knowledgeable dooyoo member can enlighten me?)

How much do cobbles fetch on the open market?

Surely, if, as I suspect, Railtrack can earn a pretty penny from the sale of the cobbles, then that is their true reason for not wanting to re-lay them?