DEATH Watch Beetle and rambling Ivy are marching on Hay Castle and with sagging beams and part of the frontage looking close to collapse a rescue mission unveiled to the public on the weekend can't come soon enough.

Its last enemies are to be defeated by an Army headed by the Hay Castle Trust which has appointed a team of architects to come up with a battle plan.

Historic building specialists, Rick Mather Architects, will work with a team of archaeologists, structural engineers, conservation architects and ecologists to regenerate what they have currently described as a 'demoralising' town centrepiece.

Proposals to massively rejuvenate Hay's icon include opening up any last remaining defences.

The design is to be developed throughout the year with the project scheduled to reach the planning stage next year.

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