COUNCILLORS have given the go-ahead for a bid for hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding to repairs walls around Christchurch Priory.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Christchurch council unanimously agreed to submit a £225,000 request to cover the cost of repairing sections of the walls which had been damaged by “invasive plant and tree growth” and have had to be fenced off.

It follows last month’s decision by the council’s planning committee to grant permission for the works to be carried out in nine places.

The council admitted that a “lack of maintenance” had been responsible for the damage to the historic walls.

On Tuesday, councillors were told that maintenance work be carried out more regularly to prevent the walls being damaged again.