Below is a copy of the letter from a local resident which the Newport Advertiser kindly published on its letters page :-
Dear Editor
I was aghast to read the report in the Newport Advertiser of yet another issue which is likely to cause further delay to the development of the Victoria Hotel.
As I have repeatedly pointed out to the powers that be, Newport Town Councillors, District Councillors, and others; Newport is in real danger of losing one of its few remaining iconic and listed buildings.
Unless something is done very soon the town is likely to have another “Tuckers” disaster on its hands. You do not need to be a Structural Engineer to know that buildings which are allowed to become derelict are in danger of becoming unstable. The ugly scaffolding and buttressing which has been for too long supporting the external l walls of the old hotel are no guarantee of ongoing stability.
Buildings collapse inwards as well as outwards, particularly when much of their internal structure has been removed.
After it collapsed the Tucker building was dubbed “The Shame of Newport.” Well, in the case of the Vic we have another building which already is a “Shame of Newport” and which could well become the “Disgrace of Newport” unless something is done very soon.
The need for urgent action cannot be over-stated.
The District Council has powers at its disposal to take action to resolve this situation one way or the other, either by sorting out the planning issues or by using Listed Building Legislation to intervene to ensure the preservation of a Grade 2 Listed Building. If it cannot grant planning permission because of developer demands, then it should take steps to conserve the building by the other means available to it.
I am of the opinion that something must be done as a matter of the upmost urgency. It is no longer acceptable for building so important to Newport to be put in jeopardy because of a developer or by the Council failing to act.
The Vic is part of everyone’s heritage, in particular that of the people of Newport and Telford and Wrekin. It must not be lost by design or by complacency.
Gordon Howdle
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