Councillors fight to save the remains of a Grade I listed building from vandals with vital funding from Historic England and CCTV cameras.

The Remains of the College of St Nicholas in Wallingford Castle Gardens has been damaged by vandals and the motte eroded by visitors to the gardens over the years.

Wallingford Town Council is applying for funding to ensure the historic ruins are preserved; however, the grant is likely to be only 80 per cent of the full cost of repair and the council has been asked to commit to raising 20 per cent with an initial outlay of £10k required this year.

In a Wallingford Town Council meeting councillor Katharine Keats-Rohan, a professional historian, explained that the council’s money would be reimbursed through fundraising which the council has agreed to.

However, councillor Giles Cattermole said the council should remove the ivy from the ruins themselves to save some money. He said: “I suggest for once we roll up our sleeves and do the work ourselves.”

Councillor Keats-Rohan swiftly replied and said: “If you do that the monument will be severely damaged and you will have committed a crime.”

Councillors raised several incidences of anti-social behaviour and vandalism to the historic ruins. This included people throwing rocks and ‘irresponsible’ parents letting their children play in the ruins and the Kinecroft mounds.

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Initially it was suggested that councillor patrols of the area could put a stop to the vandalism, but councillors raised concerns over personal safety.

Councillor Keats-Rohan said: “Anti-social behaviour has on two occasions related to people throwing stones, so this is also a question of personal safety”.

To protect personal safety councillors instead suggested PCSOs monitor the area or that CCTV cameras are installed.

Oxford Mail:

Local government officer Tracy Collins, suggested that more people need to report the anti-social behaviour to the police. She said: “I had two phone calls about incidents, and I said that they needed to report it to the police.

"We have a very low crime rate in Wallingford because nobody reports the incidents.”

Councillor Keats-Rohan spoke of one incident where a seven-year-old was playing on the Kinecroft and ‘ripping’ out the little trees in the banks and when told to stop she did not understand what was wrong.

Many councillors also agreed that there needs to be more education in schools about the ruins and the Kinecroft to make young people aware that it has significance for the town as a historic monument to prevent further vandalism.

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