Work starts on repair of historic Telford dam wall more than 12 months after it was destroyed by tree
Work has now started to repair an historic dam wall which was broken when a tree fell through it more than a year ago.
Campaigners around Horsehay Pool had been planning to protest the eyesore wall, but work has now started on repairing it.
Telford & Wrekin Council said its contractors began the work on Monday, and that it was expected to take about four weeks to complete.
Russell Griffin, a spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "A large tree fell into Horsehay Pool in October 2018 after high winds and damaged part of the Reservoir dam wall.
"Works started to permanently repair the damage on Monday, November 18 and these are expected to be completed in four weeks.
"Balfour Beatty is the principal contractor for the works and specialist local sub-contractors are being used to install scaffolding and rebuild the wall using locally sourced materials."
Ruins
The dam wall was left in ruins after a tree smashed through it during Storm Callum in October 2018.
The tree that crashed through the wall was cut down and the area was secured, but the beauty spot was then left untouched.
The council said that work had been going on behind the scenes on the difficult project, which was delayed in part by a suspended BT duct.
It said it was not a simple quick job because it involved the historic dam wall, the open water of Horsehay pool and nearby buried services.
The pool was created when Abraham Darby II build a blast furnace in the area.
It is believed to be the original pool from which water was drawn to operate the blast furnace. Many large scale projects were created in Horsehay, including the Shifnal railway bridge.
Many of the homes next to the pool were built for workers at the furnace.
