Following Thursday’s catastrophic walls collapse, statements issued by the Council and MP Chris Matheson placed the blame firmly on the developers. A Cwac spokesperson said that removal of earth from the bottom of the walls and exposure of the foundations had compromised the walls integrity.
Reflecting the huge public anger on the issue and the potential closure of the walls for years, Chris Matheson commented that he was “appalled that the company carrying out development on this site has not exercised the care and diligence that we expect to see in such close proximity to this iconic ancient monument. Whilst further details about this incident are still forthcoming, I will be offering my support to all of the heritage partners in Chester, to ensure that action is taken to rectify this situation and restore this section of Chester Wall to its former glory.”
Whilst the debate rages about who is culpable for this disaster and the investigation begins, family run hotelier Walker and Williams Hotels have replied:
We are so thankful that nobody was hurt in the collapse on Thursday night but are greatly saddened by what has happened.
We are disappointed that Mr Matheson has jumped to conclusions hours after the collapse without having any of the facts. We have contacted Mr Matheson asking him to consider the facts and if he would meet us to discuss in detail exactly what happened leading up to the collapse, I am sure if he did so he would very much like to retract his statements to date. Unfortunately Mr Matheson has so far ignored our requests.
We will support the council where ever we can to get the wall sympathetically restored and made safe for many years to come.
We apologise to the people of Chester for any distress this has caused them but would kindly ask them to wait for the facts to become clear before making a judgement. ”
The Chester blog 