Meeting told there's a risk Ludlow's town walls will collapse again

A length of Ludlow's medieval town walls collapsed 12 years ago and has never been repaired because the town council and the Diocese of Herefordshire cannot agree who is liable.

Now comes news that a meeting in the town has been told there is a risk of further collapse:

At the weekend the Ludlow Town Walls Trust told the meeting the wall extending from the collapsed section was "in a tenuous condition of stability". ...

The section still at risk, the meeting of about 80 people heard, was the part extending eastwards from the collapse to the rear of the Compasses Inn. 

According to that BBC News report, the parochial church council, which is part of the Diocese of Hereford, has said it plans to initiate legal proceedings for a judicial review and file a complaint of maladministration against Ludlow Town Council with the Local Government Ombudsman.

And BBC News has covered further developments today:

Ludlow Town Council said the ownership and responsibility for the walls were "complicated and contentious matters", but there was a clear path for progress.

It said it would take a full and active part, external in the work, on a no liability basis, and urged all other interested parties to discuss next steps.

The town council has named "water pressure in the subsoil, apparent degradation of the wall mortar and inadequate thickness of the masonry" among the causes of the collapse, which suggests it may attempt to sue some medieval cowboy builders.

Trust re-formed to fund repairs to Ludlow's town walls

In Ludlow last month I saw the failure, 12 years after a stretch collapsed, to repair its town walls as a metaphor for national malaise. (The photo above shows a section in a better state of repair.)

Now BBC News reports that the charitable trust that used to care for Ludlow's town walls is re-forming and will begin raising money to assist local authorities in carrying out the repairs:

"This blot on our landscape has been left unattended and it's now presenting a risk of further collapse," claimed Colin Richards, chair of the trust.

"What we're trying to do as a community is to come forward through the Ludlow Town Walls Trust to say look...we can help as a community."

Mr Richards was responsible for the wall for 24 years as a conservation officer with the former South Shropshire District Council.

The report also touches on the dispute over who is responsible for the upkeep of the walls:

The section of wall is owned by the Parish Church of St Laurence, Ludlow, as part of the Church of England estate.

However, responsibility for repair lies with Ludlow Town Council, according to the parish and Shropshire Council.

Ludlow Town Council has not responded to the BBC's request for comment, but earlier this year said it was still taking legal advice.

Ludlow wall's down and England's done

Twelve years ago, a section of Ludlow's medieval town wall collapsed. When I visited the town a couple of weeks ago I found that repairs have still not begun.

Andy Boddington reported at the start of this year that there has been a dispute over who is responsible for the repairs, You suspect that has been fought with such tenacity because no public authority has the money to fund the work if they cop for it.

Someone I knew in planning used to tell me that Ludlow was safe from insensitive development because it's one of the towns foreign dignitaries are taken to show them the best of England.

Now it seems we can't afford the upkeep of the place.

Bridgnorth borrows half a million so town cliff railway can reopen

The people of Bridgnorth have given their town council the go ahead to borrow half a million pound to fund repairs that will allow the town's cliff railway to reopen.

As a result of this funding for work on an unstable retaining wall, the railway is due to reopen later this month.

The vote in favour of the borrowing is a reflection of the fact that the cliff railway isn't just a tourist attraction. Because of Bridgnorth's unique geography - half the town lies on the banks on the Severn and half on an outcrop that overlooks it - it's a valuable amenity for residents too.

According to the town clerk Clare Turner, quoted by BBC News, the £500,000 will be repaid over 25 years and will cost residents an extra £8 each year.

Meanwhile, reports Andy Boddington, there is no sign that work to restore a stretch of Ludlow's medieval town wall that collapsed 11 years ago will begin any time soon.

Six of the Best 994

The Liberal Democrats are making the same mistake that doomed the Liberals a century ago, argues Nick Barlow.

Ian Dunt says liberals can redefine national pride and reclaim the flag from nationalists: "Liberal patriotism ... It starts and ends with the individual. It is a personal love story which springs from within, not a slab of uniformity imposed from above. It therefore cares about every individual in the country."

Dominic Dyer on the politics of the badger cull.

"Next Thursday 18 February 2021, it will have been eight years since the town walls fell at the back of St Laurence’s. There is no sign of the repairs beginning this year." Andy Boddington suggests Ludlow’s collapsed town wall should be registered as a Monumental Failure and become a tourist attraction.

Chris Orton offers an appreciation of Moondial, the BBC children's drama series from 1988: "Children’s drama in this era was thought-provoking and intelligent, with real care and attention made during the productions. The BBC seemed to go to great lengths to produce high quality programmes that made children think, entertained them and which didn’t belittle them."

"She loved to perch herself on or near a windowsill, surveying the outdoors for hours. It strikes me now how quintessentially feline that behaviour is: a docile carnivore balanced on the border of a human home, alone and content, yet with all its senses tuned to the world beyond." Ferris Jabr asks if cats are really domesticated.

Six of the Best 851

"First, some figures. From 1899 to 1902, roughly 48,000 people died in British concentration camps in South Africa. Of the 28,000 white deaths, 22,000 were children under the age of 16. More than 4,000 were women. The 20,000 Black deaths were less clearly recorded - a mark of official indifference - but most estimates suggest that about 80% were children." Robert Saunders puts Jacob Rees-Mogg right on British concentration camps in the Boer War.

"Being Asian and a curry lover you would think that I would feel sorry for him but I don’t. Those from immigrant communities who vote or advocate for narrow interests always draw my ire." Jane Chelliah is not moved by the secretary general of the Bangladesh Caterers Association's regret at influencing his members to vote Leave.

Paul Russell reconsiders the moral philosophy of Bernard Williams, whom I heard speak at York as a student.

John Boughton examines the history and architecture of the Church of England's engagement with council estates.

"We have one of the most complete town walls in Europe. But neglect and overdue repairs have led Historic England to add Ludlow town walls to its Heritage in Danger list. The town council should be ashamed of this." Andy Boddington on the failure to repair Ludlow's fallen town walls.

Tim Holyoake watches Shoestring again after 40 years and is not disappointed.

Lib Dem councillor takes temporary charge of City of York Council

The Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser once described Ludlow Town Council as "beleaguered" and "in meltdown".

So far The Press (which was called the Yorkshire Evening Press when I was a student) has avoided such language when talking about City of York Council, but the day cannot be far off.

Take yesterday's report:

York's Conservative leader says he is "in talks" on renewing the deal to run the city council with the Lib Dems, after councillors failed to agree on a new leader. 

Cllr Ian Gillies was elected leader of City of York Council's Conservative group earlier this month, but last night could not get enough votes to become the council leader - with the Liberal Democrats and opposition councillors voting down his nomination. 

With his predecessor Cllr David Carr resigning and accusing his fellow Conseravtives of betrayal, that left with authority with no leader and Lib Dem deputy council leader Cllr Andrew Waller in temporary charge. 

A second Conservative councillor, Suzie Mercer, also resigned from the party.

Since the 2015 elections the council has been run by an uneasy Conservative and Liberal Democrat administration.

Relations between the two parties were not helped when David Carr had two Lib Dem councillors suspended from the executive for reasons that remain obscure.

Former Ludlow town clerk wins unfair dismissal fight

This blog has long taken an interest in the sometimes colourful affairs of Ludlow Town Council.

It is back in the Shropshire Star today:

Veronica Calderbank quit her role at Ludlow Town Council in June last year, claiming she was left with no choice after being asked to work long hours without a break, despite councillors knowing she had a crippling back problem. 

At the end of a month-long employment tribunal hearing in Birmingham, it was ruled she had been unfairly constructively dismissed. 

A hearing to assess the amount of money she will be awarded has been set for February 18. Judge Rohan Pirani suggested Mrs Calderbank might want her job back in view of the substantial losses in salary and pension, and told Councillor Jim Smithers, Ludlow’s mayor, and Councillor Nick Holcombe: “We as a tribunal can order you to reinstate her.”

Ludlow Town Council "beleaguered" and "in meltdown"

I have not blogged about Ludlow Town Council lately, but it seems it is just as dysfunctional as ever.

The Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser reports:

Ludlow Town Council is in ‘meltdown’ according to outgoing mayor Tony Pound who has called for it to be dissolved. 

And he dropped a bombshell on the beleaguered council by saying he’s quitting his seat, following his failure to win another term as mayor, and warning the authority faces a financial crisis. 

His resignation along with his daughter Mandy Phillips, from the two Clee View seats, leaves the town council with just seven members none of them elected. 

At a heated annual meeting Mr Pound was defeated by five votes to four for the role as mayor for the coming year. 

The authority now faces having to try to co-opt eight new members.

Allegations of bullying at Ludlow Town Council

In the early days of this blog the goings on at Ludlow Town Council kept my readers entertained. There was the fight that broke out and the dog who attended meetings.

Now the authority is back in the news, or at least the South Shropshire Journal:

Four councillors have been called on to stand down from Ludlow Town Council amid allegations of bullying, following the resignation of the authority’s clerk. 

Former town mayor John Aitken and fellow councillors Viv Parry, Susan McCormack and Jeffry Wilcox have been accused of bullying town clerk Veronica Calderbank over a period of several months and failing to act in the interests of the people of the town.

The report goes on to say that a dossier of letters and town council committee minutes connected with the allegations was presented at a meeting of the council on Monday and that at least one of those named denies those allegations.

On a happier note, we have managed to obtain an exclusive interview with Sarky, the dog who used to attend meetings...

Liberal England: So, Sarky, what was it like attending meetings of Ludlow Town Council?

Sarky: Rough!

Dog thrown off Ludlow Town Council

At least I assume it has been.

Back in August 2007 I reported that Sarky, a 'borderline terrrier' belonging to Ludlow town councillor Mitch Mitchell, has now won the right to attend meetings with his master.

Now comes news that Mr Mitchell has been removed from the council after failing to attend a meeting for six months.

The South Shropshire Journal report does not say so, but I this presumably means that Sarky has also lost the right to attend meetings too.

The good news is that, according to the same report, you can see:

Mr Mitchell, known as Mitch ... six days a week on King Street in Ludlow belting out tunes on his pipe with faithful companion Sarky the dog at his side.

And he has a cat called Tommy too.

I assume that Ludlow's Mitch Mitchell is not the Mitch Mitchell who used to play drums for Jimi Hendrix, not least because the latter died in 2008.

Is Ludlow Town Council returning to form?

For a while Ludlow Town Council kept us all entertained. There were tales of dogs attending meetings and of fights breaking out afterwards.

Then it all went quiet.

But a story on the Shropshire Star website today begins:

An election for a new Ludlow town councillor was mired in last-minute controversy when one candidate accused the eventual winner of distributing illegal flyers.

It turns out that there is nothing more shocking here than a missing imprint, but could it be the start of a return to form for what I used to call "Britain's most dysfunctional local authority"?

Note, too, that the victor in this disputed contest was none other than Jennifer Leyton-Purrier, who recently won our prestigious Name of the Day award.

Ludlow Town Council back in the news

Things have gone quiet lately at this blog's favourite local authority. But Ludlow Town Council returned to the Shropshire Star today with the news that six current and former members have been cleared of breaching their code of conduct:

Their possible suspension was reported earlier this year, after a complaint that they had released confidential information to the press.

The tribunal heard all six had signed a statement condemning the “inappropriate management of public money by a member of staff at Ludlow Town Council”. They had also called for a police investigation.

Standards probe at Ludlow Town Council

Photo by Sabine J Hutchinson
http://www.virtual-shropshire.co.uk/

In case you thought things have been suspiciously quiet at Ludlow Town Council recently, the Shropshire Star reports:

Six Shropshire town councillors including a mayor are being investigated after allegedly breaching confidential information.

It is understood that South Shropshire District Council’s standards committee met with the six Ludlow Town Council members on Monday afternoon and all six, including the mayor and deputy mayor could be suspended.

Now the councillors – mayor Jim Newbold, deputy mayor Derek Davies, Mickey Bradley, Amanda Pope, Marie Glaze and Tony Pound – have been told a decision will be in the hands of the Adjudication Panel for England.

At least Sarky appears to be in the clear.

Ludlow town councillors call in the police

I promise myself I will stop writing about Britain most dysfunctional local authority. But as long as it keeps producing stories like this one from the Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser...

Police are investigating alleged financial irregularities at Ludlow Town Council.

In a statement, West Mercia Police confirmed it had received a complaint and was looking into it.

Town councillors Michael Bradley and Tony Pound have said that they went to police to report their concerns. “We had tried to get the matter investigated internally. We felt that there was no option but to take the matter to the police,” said Councillor Bradley.

The most difficult job in world politics

Forget Barack Obama: he only has two wars and a global economic crisis to contend with.

Think of Martin Taylor-Smith: he has just got himself elected to Britain's most dysfunctional local authority.

Ludlow Town Council latest

In case you thought Britain most dysfunctional local authority had gone quiet, here is the Ludlow Advertiser:

Council tax payers in south Shropshire will have to pick up a £1,000 bill after a row over whether a member of Ludlow Town Council had resigned or not.

Following an investigation led by Veronica Calderbank, head of Scrutiny and Standards at South Shropshire District Council, it has been determined that Michael Bradley did not resign.

But in reaching the decision, it was necessary to take legal advice from Birmingham lawyers Eversheds – resulting in the bill for £1,000.

Ludlow Town Council: Latest news

The Shropshire Star has the latest from Britain's most dysfunctional local authority:

A seat on Ludlow Town Council is up for grabs and there is uncertainty about another seat after two councillors resigned - but now one wants his place back.

Last month councillors Mickey Bradley and Graeme Perks resigned but council monitoring officer, Veronica Calderbank, found the letters were not legally sound.

She wrote to both councillors informing them of the legal procedure but Councillor Perks was the only one who then tended an official resignation letter.

Councillor Bradley then decided he did not wish to officially resign after all.

The Most Complained About Local Authority in Shropshire

According to the South Shropshire Journal:

Ludlow Town Council is the most complained-about authority in the county, according to figures released by standards committees across Shropshire.

In south Shropshire, there have been 20 complaints about breaches of the councillors’ code of conduct since May this year, when a new system for reporting breaches came into force.

Fifteen of the complaints were made about Ludlow Town councillors.

Earlier postings on this blog will show you why.

Ludlow blog wars

From time to time this blog has drawn attention to the antics of Ludlow's town council - surely Britain's most dysfunctional local authority?

Now the South Shropshire Journal has drawn our attention to the existence of Ludlovius, which is a blog designed to expose the doings of the councillors.

There is now only one posting on the blog, and in it the author announces that he is closing the thing down. But the cached version shows there have been more postings in the past. And it leads us on to CittaScam Ludlow - "Lancing the boil on the arse of the whore of Ludlow".

The plot thickens.