Government gives £12 million to help stabilise Ironbridge Gorge

The Council has been lobbying regional and national government for funding for engineering schemes to help tackle the problem. As part of the deal, the Council has had to commit significant funding itself to secure the Government's support.

It says that around £80 million will be needed to protect the Gorge, the West Mildands only World Heritage Site. Land instability in the Gorge is nothing new - reports of ground movement have been recorded over the past 235 years. However, extensive engineering work by the Council and partners has been carried out to lessen the impact of this.

Telford & Wrekin Council has received confirmation from the Department for Communities and Local Government of its intention to provide further funding. The money will help the Council undertake work in Jackfield between the Jackfield Tile Museum and the Boat Inn an area identified as the next highest priority following the last piece major instability work in the Lloyds area, which completed in 2008.

The area of Jackfield has suffered significant landslides in the past, with property and highway being lost, while monitoring is showing land instability continuing and the road becoming increasingly unstable, with the only vehicular access to the community in the eastern parts of Jackfield.

Councillor Richard Overton cabinet member for regeneration said: "The problems of land instability and movement in the Gorge are well known and documented. Protecting the area's only World Heritage Site, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions of pounds into the borough and is home to thousands of people is a must for us.

"However the bill we face to do this is beyond our means, so we are pleased that Government has found this money to go towards tackling this most pressing need.

"Unfortunately the Government money is not enough to tackle cost of the next phase of stability works and so, in the interests of public safety and protecting the World Heritage Site, which is a massive visitor attraction, we have to commit to funding these works.

"In the current financial climate and the budget pressures imposed on us by Government cuts on our grant funding, this is money we can ill afford to spend. However we have little choice other than to do this."

Councillor David Davies, Ironbridge ward member, added: "I am sure this news will be welcomed by the Jackfield community and we will be liaising with them about the works shortly so that we can all work together to minimise any impact and that people can carry on as normally as possible."

Since 2001 Telford & Wrekin Council has spent more than £16 million on tackling land instability in the Gorge. This work includes assessing and stabilising some of the sites in the Gorge that are most affected.