Chancellor urged to fund maintenance of Chester city walls

The Chancellor has been urged to provide a yearly cash pot of £600,000 to help preserve a city's Roman walls.

Chester is the only city in Britain to boast a full circuit of the ancient fortifications but the council has to use money set aside for highways investment to maintain them.

Labour MP Chris Matheson appealed for the support ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Mr Matheson told the Treasury the walls were "a unique and important historical monument".

As a designated ancient structure, any work and maintenance requires elaborate planning, legal consent and specialist contractors.

In 2016 the council created a City Walls Fund to ring-fence money for routine upkeep.

However, the cash is linked to the council's highways budget which has continued to suffer cuts in recent years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Matheson said: "My worry is that because this pot is linked to the council's highways budget, and if funding for local government continues to decline then this will ultimately impact either the maintenance of the walls, our roads, or potentially both.

"We should not be in a position where we have to choose between the safety of our roads or the preservation of the history and identity of our city."

He said last year's highways funding allocation from the government to Cheshire West and Chester Council was cut by 22%.

He added: "I have suggested £600,000 per annum based on the past twelve years of expenditure."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]