FUNDING has been secured to stop further deterioration of Dulverton’s historic weir and leat while a permanent repair scheme is prepared.

Dulverton Weir and Leat Conservation Trust (DWLCT) lead trustee Philip Hull said Somerset Council had committed to covering the cost to ‘prevent further degradation and ensure water continues to flow down the leat’.

Mr Hull said it would give time to find a more permanent solution for the River Barle structure as further deterioration would make restoration more expensive and increase the risk of damage to the foundations of adjacent buildings.

It was hoped most of the work could be carried out in the summer but regulatory approvals could mean some might have to wait until next year. 

Westcountry Rivers Trust and British Canoeing have recently joined DWLCT, Somerset Council, and contractor CJ Lynch Ltd to look at ways to protect the weir structure.

The Exmoor Society and Exeter University Centre for Water Systems have also recently joined the trust as project partners.

Exmoor Society chairman Kate O’Sullivan said: “Dulverton’s weir and leat are such important parts of Exmoor’s history, the Exmoor Society is delighted to support the trust and their restoration work.”

Centre for Water Systems co-director Professor Slobodan Djordjevic said: “Partnering between DWLCT and the university will be a vehicle for a two-way collaboration.

“Our students will have an opportunity to engage with the local community and work on projects with potential for real-life impact, and our staff will offer technical advice on various aspects of preservation work and influence direction of research on this important heritage site.”

The weir and the leat have been recognised as ‘the best preserved medieval leat in England’, having originally been built using oak stake and boulder technology introduced to the UK by the Normans.

Bridgwater and Taunton College students will this month start making a film about the weir which will be premiered at the trust’s annual fund-raising garden party on July 10.

Permission has been given by Sir Antonio Pappano for the film to use music from his conducting of the London Symphony Orchestra’s Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4.