WITH the hot weather back, the wood wasps have return to Ledbury to nest in two of the town's most iconic buildings, including the Market House, and this raises the possibility that another hefty repair bill is on the cards.

The wood wasps last made local headlines during the long hot summer of 2006, when repairs to the Market House cost the town council a whopping £200,000 to put matters right.

By coincidence, the town council is currently set to pay out £200,000 in legal costs, having lost a recent judicial review: raising the question as to where the council can find extra money for urgent repairs.

The Market House is again affected by wood wasps, but it is not presently "a cause for alarm," unlike the Grade II* listed town council offices, where damage is reported to be "widespread".

A report from Caroe and Partners Architects, which carried out an inspection for the town council on July 25, said the damage to the town council offices was "widespread and longstanding".

The report also states:"The issue at the Market House appears to be limited to one post only and has occurred since the recent warm weather."

Unlike in 2006, the wasps themselves are not being blamed for the damage.

The official verdict is that the enterprising insects are not causing the extensive decay, but are taking advantage of it.

The chairman of Ledbury Town Council, Cllr Nina Shields said: "It seems the wasps aren’t the problem but they indicate some rot in the wood and we are taking advice on this."

Concerning the damage and the likely costs, Cllr Shields said: "It’s nowhere near as extensive as last time, but we haven’t had any kind of estimate yet, so I don’t have that information."

Ian Stainburn, the architect who oversaw the previous repair works is to be contacted for advice, even though he has now retired.

Meanwhile, further investigations must now be carried out.

The report, which was handed out at last week's full town council meeting, states: "It is likely that we will advise some form of microbore investigation to determine the extent of the decay."

The repair of the Market House in the summer of 2006, after the last wood wasp infestation, was one of the most spectacular engineering operations ever carried out in Ledbury.

The 17th century building, which is Grade I listed, was hydraulically lifted above its sandstone plinths, so that the decayed wood of its pillars could be repaired with special grout.

Because it was important to keep the timber-framed building level, for both the raising and the lowering, laser beams were used as precision measuring devices.

Mr Stainburn said at the time: "It was like squeezing toothpaste back into a tube, but it all went very smoothly."