The saga of the wall with no owner rumbles on. This is the wall which border Gloucester Road between the Waterside and Chase Park development and the Chase Hotel.

Joyce Thomas has been in contact with the architect who wrote a letter to the Gazette regarding the possible demolition of the wall.

Like him Mrs Thomas agrees that this would be a terrible thing to happen. She said: “I want to make it clear that I do not want the wall pulled down.”

She said: “That would be the last resort, but we have to put public safety first. The wall shows further signs of deterioration.”

Mrs Thomas is concerned that it could become a matter of public safety, She said: “Ross is full of old walls and the last thing I want is to see them destroyed, I want to preserve it if we can but first we need to establish ownership.”

The wall is not part of the Chase Hotel’s grounds but several comments on social media, and a letter to the paper this week, imply that the Chase Hotel is responsible for it. Simon Porter of the Chase Hotel spoke to the Gazette this week to confirm that the wall is outside their boundary.

Mr Porter said: “I can confirm that Charles Jones (Herefordshire Council Building Control Officer) has been in contact with me on numerous occasions since mid 2016 to try and establish ownership of the collapsing wall. I have done everything possible to assist him and supplied a copy of our deed plan, which clearly shows the wall is well outside our boundary.”

Both Mrs Thomas and Mr Porter have suggested that the ownership might belong with Western Power Distribution, as there is an Electricity Sub Station in very close proximity to the wall or the developers responsible for the houses at Chase Park and Waterside.

The Gazette understands that these developers have long since gone out of business but efforts are still being made to trace the ownership.

Mrs Thomas said it would be wonderful if a local company could offer to repair the wall as funding is such a serious issue for Herefordshire Council, however she believes that demolition should only be considered as the last resort but public safety has to be the priority.