In hopes to open Wallingford Castle gardens in April, the town council agreed to allocate £5,000 as contingency to help secure the ruin’s while restoration work takes place.

The provisional expenditure would be used in the event that some existing fencing, which is hoped to be reused from a different project, is not available.

The gardens have been closed since last October as the council could not guarantee public safety due to the increased potential of falling masonry.

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Herald Series: St. Nicholas College ruins at Wallingford’s Castle Gardens

Roughly ten metres of temporary fencing needs to be erected around the ruins of the 13th century St Nicholas College in order to make the site safe.

Scaffolding went up last November to enable careful cutting back of vegetation, comprehensive condition surveys and 3D scanning.

Repair work to the castle remains – one of the most historic corners of the town – could start in June.

Due to the scaffolding onsite, the whole of the Castle Gardens is now a construction site, and is alarmed and monitored by CCTV.

Marcus Harris, Wallingford Mayor, had said: “We are working furiously to get the gardens open by April and in time for the Jubilee celebrations."

While the ruins are being restored, visitors can learn more about the site's past at the Wallingford Museum which will reopen next month.

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