Nottingham City Council has allocated close to £300,000 for work on the Broadmarsh Caves after an inspection indicated there was "significant risks in the planning and management of works". An inspection carried out earlier this year, by Historic England, observed that "the cave roof infrastructure is exposed to the elements and water levels in the caves was high".
A report now warns the council could face prosecution for failing to protect the site properly if changes are not made. The authority has therefore allocated £278,188 from secured capital receipts to fix the issue.
The report, published by Nottingham City Council's growth and development committee, stated that "irreversible" relationships were created during the construction of the shopping centre. Part of the report read: "The collapse of deposits defining the tanning pits have appeared as a result of water level fluctuations.
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"The construction of the shopping centre and later works appears highly complex, and it would appear that irreversible relationships were created between ridged concrete fabric and fragile bedrock / caves."
Should the council fail to protect what is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, it will be “open to prosecution” under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, the report adds.
The works will include the removal of all demolition material left by intu from the concrete slab of the old Broadmarsh shopping centre and the covering-over of the concrete slab with a waterproof membrane to protect the caves from further water damage.
Work commenced in 2021 under a contract with Wilmott Dixon Construction for phase 1 demolition at the Broadmarsh Centre under which are located the Broadmarsh Caves.
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