FORMER cinemas and sections of the city walls are among the sites on Worcester’s Heritage at Risk Register.
The list, drawn up by the city council, contains the buildings, monuments and historic areas most at risk through neglect, decay or damage caused by inappropriate development.
According to the council, buildings at risk range from those “virtually on the point of collapse to those just in need of minor repair”.
A section of the medieval city walls from the back of 27 New Street to Windsor Row is being damaged by plant growth.
The council says the owner has removed most of the vegetation and is in discussions with Historic England about a solution.
VACANT: The Scala is in a poor state of repairs but is the subject of a major planning application by the council (Image: NQ)
Another section of the city walls between Angel Place and Bath Cottage has been strengthened with a concrete retaining wall.
The moated site at Earl’s Court, a Scheduled Monument, is described as being in an unsatisfactory condition with “major localised problems”.
St Helen’s Church - thought to be the oldest in the city - has been the subject of numerous repairs in recent years, with masonry works funded by a National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant for Places of Worship completed in 2019.
A new stone floor and a toilet extension have since been finished and stonework repairs to the tower are ongoing.
The council says Lowesmoor, a conservation area, is in a very bad condition.
“Property is in a very bad state and urgent repair is required,” the register says.
“Repairs are underway and advice is being offered on suitable replacement windows.”
A house in Green Hill, Bath Road is in “a very bad state and urgent repair is required,” the report says.
Funding has been found from the Property Enhancement Grant Scheme to do up an empty shop in Angel Street.
The Forsyth sculpture of hop pickers in Sansome Street is being subjected to high levels of traffic pollution.
A pedestal tomb at St John’s Church in Claines, a fire-damaged house in Trotshill Lane East, a farm building in Lower Wick and 79-83 St John’s are also on the ‘at risk’ list.
The Scala and the Corn Exchange, the Ice Works in Bromyard Road, and Block J, Gilding House at the Royal Porcelain Works are all on the list but are also subject to major planning projects.
A former farrier’s shop in Bath Road thought to be one of the last built in the UK is said to be in poor condition and is the only unlisted building on the register.
Worcester City Council’s planning committee is set to discuss the Heritage at Risk Register at its meeting on Thursday (July 18).
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