A Leicestershire tourist attraction is in need of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of repairs. The Moira Furnace, located in open parkland on the banks of the Ashby Canal, dates back to 1806.
It is believed to be one of the most well-preserved blast furnaces in the country, and was once used to make iron. But now, parts of the attraction is being damaged by water ingress from a leaking roof and walls.
The water risk dates back to at least 2018, with one room now unusable and the ongoing use of the main museum area becoming “unsustainable” as a result, documents published by North West Leicestershire District Council reveal. The land and building are owned by the local authority.
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Before Covid-19, the council began the process of agreeing works on the attraction with Historic England, which has to sign off on any repairs. However, the council said this has been an “extremely difficult and lengthy process” which, coupled with the pandemic itself, created a delay.
All consents are “now in place”, the council said. However, the slow progress in obtaining this coincided with a period of cost inflation in the construction industry. The price of repairing the building, then, is set to be more than originally anticipated.
The tendering of the project revealed an almost £490,000 price tag for the scheme – £225,000 over the budget previously set aside. The difference is set to be funded primarily through the authority’s Business Rates Reserves, with £65,000 also being put in through a UK Shared Prosperity Fund contribution.
The works would be done in two phases. The first will see repairs to the roof, parapets, and replacement of gutters and downpipes. Then internal repairs will take place to correct the damage done by the leaks. No time frame has been given publicly for the work.
