Chester walls: Heritage minister and MP to discuss funding

Chester's walls are a popular attraction for residents and visitors

The government has agreed to meet with an MP over concerns about funding for Chester's walls.

Cheshire West and Chester Council currently pay for the upkeep of the walls, but Labour's Chris Matheson told a House of Commons debate they "should be funded centrally".

The Chester MP said the walls were an "international treasure".

Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston said he would meet the MP to "discuss his ideas and his proposals".

Mr Matheson wrote to the government in November 2021, calling for the council to receive an annual payment of £600,000 towards the cost of upkeep.

He said the amount was based on the average annual costs since 2009.

Chester's walls

• Chester is the only city in the UK with a complete circuit of walls still in place and they form a two mile (3.2km) circuit around the centre

• They were first built by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago and were extended and developed in the 10th Century

• The Normans rebuilt and extended the walls in the 12th Century

• From the 18th century, they were no longer needed for defence and were adapted to become a fashionable walk and public amenity

Source: Cheshire West and Chester Council

During questions to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, he said the walls were one of the biggest drivers of tourism.

"Does the minister agree with me that major heritage and tourism assets such as these should be funded centrally because they're a national, indeed an international, treasure?" he said.

Mr Huddleston said the government did invest in heritage through the Culture Recovery Fund.

However, he added that it was "an area that sometimes involves cross government work", so would meet with the MP to "discuss his ideas and his proposals".

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