Hopes collapsed town wall could soon be on mend

The church threatened legal action over a lack of repairs

There are hopes repairs could soon be on the way to part of Ludlow's 800-year-old town wall, which collapsed almost 12 years ago.

The town council has finally shared a three-year old structural engineers report with interested parties after legal action was threatened by St Laurence's Church.

The BBC has been told the report contains a number of options for the repairs which will now be discussed, but there are no costings included.

Members of the parochial church council (PCC) said they were pleased it had been shared but the threat of legal action remained until firm decisions are made.

A 10m (33ft) section of wall behind St Laurence's collapsed in February 2013 and has been fenced off ever since.

The portion of wall collapsed in 2013

Concern about the historic wall have grown recently as temporary repairs have weakened.

Granite bags propping up the wall are splitting and trees and shrubs are now growing out of the collapsed section at the back of the church.

A letter sent by lawyers for the PCC said it was "profoundly concerned" that the council's failure to repair the wall risked further land slippage and a risk to the safety of people living nearby.

In the absence of progress, they said they would initiate legal proceedings for a judicial review and file a complaint of maladministration with the Local Government Ombudsman.

Taxpayers' money

The church and other interested parties also called on the council to publish a structural engineering report, commissioned in 2017 and completed in 2021.

Mr Owen said a great deal of taxpayers' money had been spent on the report and associated legal advice.

The town council met on Monday and decided to share the report with the PCC of St Lawrence's, the Town Walls Trust, Shropshire Council and Historic England.

The BBC understands the options for the repair differ in how much they will cost, with an implication that a less expensive option would be preferred.

'Misinformation and speculation'

The town council said it had proposed "sharing the report via non-disclosure agreements, as it was concerned the technical nature of the report is such that there is potential for it to be misinterpreted and misconstrued if released into the public domain without further discussion between those involved"

"The council has also become aware of a significant amount of misinformation and speculation regarding the council's handling of the report," it added.

"In these circumstances, the council decided to reconsider its position and unanimously decided to release the report."

Spokesman for the PCC of St Laurence's Robert Owen said sharing the report was "an important step in the right direction".

"But the threat of legal action remains until there is evidence of tangible progress, made in a reasonable timeframe, to get the repairs started," he said.

Mr Owen said he hoped all interested parties would now get together to work out a plan of action.