Biddulph Town Councillors have expressed their disappointment at artists' impressions for the designs of a miners' memorial in planned community gardens at Station Road.

Councillors viewed the latest designs at a meeting of the authority's Town and Community Committee last night (Tuesday), but were not satisfied with the plans, feeling that their ideas on how the garden should look hadn't been taken on board.

Biddulph Nub News reported in October how the council agreed to buy an area of land on Station Road from Sainsbury's for £4,000 following a "long and torturous process".

The council has been working for several years to develop the land near the supermarket for local residents, with proposals including a community garden area with a memorial to those who died in Biddulph's mining industry.

The memorial could include a display of bricks, with the names of the town's miners throughout history engraved into them.

After councillors viewed the plans, the council has said it "will consult with a wide range of people and groups to make sure that the memorial sensitively honours those who lost their lives and is a permanent reminder of the town's heritage."

At last night's meeting, councillors shared their views on plans for the area drawn up by BP Architecture.

Cllr John Jones said: "I appreciate the work that's been done on this, but frankly I'm a bit disappointed. It's not quite what I expected, and I think that if those bricks have the names on then they will just get walked on."

Cllr Kevin Jackson agreed, saying: "I'm very disappointed, it certainly wasn't the brief that we discussed, in fact it's nothing like it. I think the idea of the named bricks should be part of it, but those bricks will get weathered more easily. We also wanted to raise it up so it could be seen more clearly from the bypass."

Nigel Yates added: "I like the general landscape, but I think it needs to be on a plinth. It has to be very accessible and visible, it can't be seen as a forgotten corner."

Cllr Charlie Smith echoed those thoughts, saying: "Those bricks are meant to be a mark of respect, but this looks appealing for young people with bikes and scooters, which would be quite disrespectful if someone were to ride over it."

And Cllr Hilda Sheldon said: "I think it looks too flat, and I think it would be like a toy for people to climb on. It doesn't do anything for me at all."

Councillors agreed to return to BP Architecture and ask them to come up with new plans for the area to be discussed at next month's meeting.