'The most dangerous place in Shrewsbury': Pub landlord's concern about roof of homeless shelter next door

Chris Jones, who keeps the Albion Vaults in in Castle Foregate, says he has raised concerns about the state of the roof and chimney at the council-owned Shrewsbury Ark centre next to his pub several times, but no action has been taken.

He said masonry had been falling from the chimney of the building in Castle Foregate, and said several tiles from the asbestos roof had also come loose.

Mr Jones said that on one occasion he had even had to call police for the safety of homeless people who had been congregating beneath the chimney.

"The entrance to the Ark is the most dangerous place in Shrewsbury, because there's a massive chimney over it, with bricks missing," he said.

"You can see right through it, it is that bad.

"There is an asbestos roof in poor condition, some of the tiles are missing, they have fallen off. A surveyor came two years ago, and said it had a maximum six months of life. It's dangerous."

Mr Jones said he had just replaced his roof, and had even offered to get his contractors to carry out the work free of charge, if the council would allow him to rent the empty offices on the top floor of the building.

Steve Law of Shropshire Council said: “Shropshire Council is aware of the concerns raised by the landlord of the Albion Vaults concerning repairs to a joint chimney between The Albion Vaults and the Ark and we will be contacting him to address and discuss these issues.”