James Orme, Highways Superintendent, Cheshire West & Chester has advised us:
Any future surfacing works in the conservation area would have to be sympathetic to the area. Surface dressing (tar & chippings) is the most cost effective option but only on roads where the structure of the road is still good, this application can be done in such a way that it tapers towards the edge of the carriageway so the setts would still be obvious.
Carriageway inlays would be the only other option; this involves planning out of 50mm of surface then machine laying 50mm back. This is expensive work and knowing the condition of the roads very unlikely. In relation to the setts localised works can be done but this will require an element of carriageway patching to bring the road level with the setts however each location will need looking at as it may cause issues with water retention in the channel.