Further wall collapse “could kill someone” says Ludlow man

A Ludlow man is worried that a further collapse of a wall near his house could result in someone dying.

Martin Crowdy lives by St Laurence’s Church, where a collapsed wall that adjoins it has still not been fully repaired despite it happening 12 years ago.

Temporary measures to prop the wall are failing, according to Ludlow Town Walls Trust, with the situation getting so bad that the Parochial Church Council (PCC) is threatening legal action if Ludlow Town Council does not take action.

“There are trees standing out, causing real damage, increasing the cost of the repair that needs to be done,” said Mr Chowdry.

“It’s a scandalous and disgraceful waste of public money. The longer it’s left, the greater the risk of another collapse.

“I’ve got small grandchildren and they play in our yard. If there is another collapse, there’s going to be the most massive, horrendous injury, possibly even death.”

Mr Chowdry was one of many people who attended a town council meeting on Monday (evening) to discuss the issue.

Their main gripe was an alleged lack of transparency from Ludlow Town Council. In 2017, the authority appointed structural engineers, the Morton Parnership, to seek tenders for the repair work.

The report was finally delivered to the council in late 2021. However, it’s been claimed that the full report has only been shared with a small group of councillors. A condensed version though would be shown/shared with the PCC, LTWT and Shropshire Council if they agree to sign a four-year non-disclosure agreement, it’s further alleged.

“I believe the duty of every council and every councillor is to be transparent in their thinking and their speaking,” said Sebastian Bowen, chairman of the Conservation Trust for St Laurence and former chairman of Herefordshire Council.

“It seems we have been robbed of that benefit for some time.

“There seems to be far too much that has redacted or omitted, or we’ve not been told about. I do not understand how any of you councillors can lie easily in your beds knowing that this town has not been told the full or whole truth about everything we should know about this very serious case.

“I do not want to see 3,000 tonnes of stone falling into the churchyard because of your delay.”

Robert Owen, from the PCC, said a further collapse of the wall “would be a catastrophe”.

“We are keen to work together to work with the council to get the repairs done as quickly as possible,” he said.

“The council needs to operate freely and transparently, in particular showing us the full report from the structural engineers that they received in 2021. Also, drop the recent demand that we should sign a non-disclosure agreement.

“What is holding the council back?”

Colin Richards, chairman of LTWT, added that there are a number of people in the town with relevant expertise who are willing to help with the repairs, but “the offer is limited”.

“We’re all at the point of nearing retirement in terms of conservation work, our contacts within Historic England and Shropshire Council are similarly in a position where we could lose that access,” said Mr Richards.

“The project is very much going to be a challenge and it’ll be a real uphill task in drawing in external funding. But we think it’s important for that to happen because we don’t want the community to face the burden of the cost when we feel we can help.”

The Mayor of Ludlow, Councillor Beverley Waite, said every councillor received a copy of the Morton Report at the last full council meeting, and it was a report “that was sufficient to give us the information we needed”.

Gina Wilding, the town clerk and responsible financial officer, added that the the full report had been shared, “apart from technical information that a layperson would not understand”.

“What is being said is real,” said Ms Wilding.