Castle's restoration work delayed by a year

Plans to restore the 12th century landmark have been put back to the next financial year

Plans to restore and repair a Grade I-listed castle in Lancashire have been put on hold for a year.

Clitheroe Castle's 800-year-old stone keep, built in the 1100s by Robert de Lacy, was set to be refurbished but councillors have agreed to delay the project while external funding is sought.

A Ribble Valley Council meeting on Tuesday evening heard the estimated cost of the project was over £300,000.

The council is now preparing a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help meet the costs of repointing and restoring the tourist attraction.

The castle reopened in April following a six-month closure for structural surveys and safety work in preparation for the renovation, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Members of the council's community services committee were told the landmark was "an important attraction to the Ribble Valley, contributing towards the tourism economy".

'Important attraction'

The report stated that the scheme had originally been approved in January 2017, subject to external funding being secured to part-finance the work.

When no external funding was found, £326,000 was allocated from earmarked reserves in February 2022, with £302,000 remaining following structural surveys and specialist work.

The surveys highlighted concerns about the structural stability and integrity of the keep, with temporary structural supports installed to enable it to be re-opened to the public.

No foundation issues were found, the report added.

With the current funding described in the report as unlikely to cover all the recommendations of the heritage consultants, councillors agreed to delay the project to the next financial year.

The priority was to make the keep structurally sound, while removing foliage "to make it more aesthetically pleasing".

“To attract external funding it is likely we would have to look at the whole castle site as a heritage visitor destination," the report stated.

Discussions had taken place with Heritage England and an initial approach had been made to the Heritage Lottery regarding funding.

The council is said to be looking at investing in the castle grounds through the Jubilee fund and also examining the future of the museum.