Home-owners unhappy to be asked to pay for shoring up historic listed wall
A HISTORIC wall that is said to be slowly collapsing into gardens of Aldershot residents will undergo a repair project costing almost £100,000, but some residents are unhappy at being told to contribute towards the cost.
The Grade II listed wall at Beaumont Park, which dates back to the Victorian era, runs alongside Farnborough Road and joins onto the wall surrounding the old South Cavalry Barracks.
Just over three and a half metres in height, it forms a boundary between the road and homes in Greys Court and Hussar Court, in Beaumont Park, but Rushmoor Borough Council has described it as being on the brink of ‘imminent collapse’.
A section of the wall built between 1854-9 has been identified as needing repairs, and supports have been put in place to prevent collapse, and the council’s cabinet approved the release of £96,000 for the work on July 15.
Councillor Roland Dibbs, cabinet member for environment and services delivery, said: “We have taken expert advice and have been told that the leaning sections of the wall need to be rebuilt.
“This work will preserve the wall and avoid a collapse into properties. The wall is a locally loved historic landmark so it is only right that we do what we can to preserve it for future generations.”
Housing association First Wessex, which owns some of the affected houses, originally informed the council that the wall was overhanging the gardens of some of their properties.
A complicating factor is that some of the neighbouring houses are privately owned. The council therefore plans to reclaim an unconfirmed amount of money spent on repairing parts of the wall that form the boundaries of private houses from the owners, a move that is unpopular with some.
Linda Arrowsmith, who is one of the homeowners in Greys Court, said she and her husband were unwilling to reimburse the council since the section of wall that runs by their back garden looked to be structurally sound. “It looks fine there,” she said.
Stephen Madgwick, a tenant on the same road, said: “It doesn't give us any issue. I can't say I've noticed anything falling down.”