Welshpool keen to offload historical white elephant

Welshpool Town Council will start looking at ways of offloading one of the town’s most historical sites, after admitting it was costing them thousands of pounds to manage every year.

The Motte and Bailey was once heralded as a Welshpool tourist attraction when the 900-year-old site, near Tesco, was adopted by the Town Council.

Tens of thousands of pounds-worth of grant money from Tesco and the former European-funded Severn Valley Regeneration Project was pumped into the location in 2014, with a plan implemented for the former end-of-the-line for the original Llanfair Railway to be renovated to its former glory to become a tourist attraction.

It flopped, and the current administration feels that they have adopted a white elephant with the area falling into disrepair and costing thousands of pounds every year to maintain, with more costly bills in the pipeline for maintenance work on the buildings and trees there.

At this week’s Welshpool Town Council Services and Property meeting, councillors were told that a dog training business was keen to rent the site, and while councillors agreed to the £180 a month rent, it opened up a wider discussion on its long-term future.

“We need to get it off our hands, it is costing us thousands now,” said Cllr Phil Pritchard. “And let’s face it, that lease we have down there will cost us an arm-and-a-leg one day with all of the repairs and everything else.”

The council’s responsible financial officer, Vanessa Voysey, admitted that the site was costing Welshpool tax payers a lot of money with the rates alone topping around £2,000 a year.

“The question is: Can we get shot of this lease?” she asked, adding that she will liaise with the site’s owner, Powis Estates, to discuss the long-term future management of the site.

The lease is believed to be midway through a 25-year deal.

Back in 2021, the site went viral when YouTuber Danny MacAskill posted videos of himself practicing breath-taking manoeuvres to his millions of followers (pictured).

What is the Welshpool Motte and Bailey?

The site, also known as Domen Castell, hosts a historic Castle which is thought to have been built over 900 years ago. It was also home to one of the only Crown Bowling Greens in Wales, the Welshpool Railway Cattle Docks and other heritage features.