Ludlow town walls repairs may cost £1m
The crumbling town walls in Ludlow, which prompted evacuation of homes when parts of it collapsed, could take £1 million to repair, it was claimed today.
A total of 13 householders living in the shadow of the 800-year-old wall in Ludlow heeded advice on Friday to leave their properties for fear of further collapses.
Shropshire and Ludlow Town Council member, Councillor Martin Taylor-Smith, said the 'blanket measure' was taken as safety was the first priority but many residents were later given the all-clear to return after checks revealed their homes were along sections of the wall repaired five years ago and deemed safe.
Councillor Taylor-Smith said: "Fortunately, about half of all the properties affected were unoccupied.
"Another couple decided to vacate on Saturday and now only two households have opted to stay put. One is on the extreme edge of the danger area. The other is in a high risk area but the occupants have signed a waiver form acknowledging they have been advised of the danger but don't want to move out."
Councillor Taylor-Smith said engineers inspected the wall over the weekend and were now deciding how they could take down the affected parts in a controlled fashion.
He said: "The wall has suffered a number of collapses over the years and it recently cost £500,000 to repair one section. The badly affected sections this time are by St Laurence's and Linney and we believe the final bill for repair could be about £1 million."
Councillor Taylor Smith said the Ludlow Town Trust would be preparing a bid to Heritage Lottery to help foot the bill. Other funds could come from insurers for the landowner, the Diocese of Hereford, and from Shropshire Council reserves.
