Dudley Castle placed on Heritage England's risk register

The Grade I-listed structure – also a Scheduled Monument – has been selected by the Government agency for this year's Heritage at Risk Register.

The list – which has seen 216 sites added – identifies historic sites most in need of help in order to be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Leaders in the borough have welcomed the move by Historic England to put the site in the "spotlight" – which allows them more opportunities to save it from ruin.

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the Dudley Council, said: "We have been working very closely with Historic England and the zoo over the past few years to try and find the best solutions to protect the castle for future generations.

“Following visits from Historic England to the town in October last year, we were advised that for Dudley Castle to receive the most amount of help it would need to be added to the Heritage at Risk register.

"We published a vision for Castle Hill in May last year which contained more than £13 million worth of proposals to protect heritage assets including the castle.

"During our ongoing negotiations with Historic England, we also submitted a bid to them in March this year for a repair grant for the castle.

"Our bid to them was successful and it will be used to fund initial surveys to inform of the scope and cost of the work needed, for which we will then target further funding opportunities.

"This may include a joint bid with the zoo to external funders such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

"Today’s announcement by Historic England has not come as any surprise to us. We have been working closely with Historic England on a targeted and phased approach to the repair of the castle.

"With it now being added to the register we consider this to be a helpful step, as it will open up new funding opportunities to enable us to secure the future of one of Dudley’s best known landmarks."

The castle is owned by Dudley Council and sits on land leased by the local authority to Dudley Zoo.

Derek Grove, director of Dudley Zoo, added: "The Zoo and Castle have been intrinsically linked since 1937, with the combination of heritage and endangered wildlife delivering a unique leisure attraction regularly welcoming over 300,000 visitors a year from across the globe.

"We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Dudley Council, Historic England and the Friends of Dudley Castle on ambitious plans to conserve the 11th century monument as part of the Castle Hill Vision.

"These plans include the restoration of the fabric of the existing structure along with additional engagement features to make the castle’s rich history more appealing to a 21st century audience.

"Being listed on the register means the spotlight will be firmly shining on one of Dudley's famous landmarks. It will hopefully open up further opportunities to help us safeguard the much-loved romantic ruin."

Nick Carter, inspector of ancient monuments for Historic England, said the addition "recognises some decline" in the monument – but added the organisation was "greatly encouraged" by the willingness to find a solution to preserve it.

He added: "We have had extremely productive engagement with the council and zoo, and we recently approved a grant of £50,000 to help inform the necessary programmes of repair and consolidation. We are hopeful this work will help us to remove the site from the Register in due course.

"We look forward to working closely with Dudley on these works, as well as the on-going conservation of the wider Castle Hill site set out in their Castle Hill Vision."