A NEW question mark hangs over the future for The Buttercross in Ludlow town centre.

Fingers are crossed that a further extension will be given for funding to turn the historic former butter market into an educational and interpretive centre.

Ludlow Town Council has admitted that there is no hope of getting the work done in time to meet a deadline of the end of June set by Shropshire Council.

This follows an earlier extension beyond a cut off that should have been achieved at the end of March.

An allocation for the funding was initially rolled into a much larger Heritage Lottery bid but this was rejected in September 2012.

Since then efforts have been made to kick start a less ambitious scheme using money from Shropshire Council’s Market Town Revitalisation initiative.

The funding of £112,000 is vital if the building is to be converted into a centre for visitors and people from the town wanting to learn about local history.

It is also intended that the Buttercross will become the new home of Ludlow Museum.

Jim Smithers, mayor of Ludlow, told the annual town meeting that the project is making progress.

The town clerk Gina Wilding said the building’s listed status had slowed progress and that there is no date set for completion of the project.

But she said electrical and plumbing work is needed and that there is no prospect of it being completed by the end of June.

John Nash, of Ludlow Civic Society, told the annual meeting that when the transfer of the museum, that is currently located next to the Visitor Information Centre, takes place careful planning will be needed to ensure a smooth hand over.

The town meeting was also told that there would have to be changes at the visitor information centre which Shropshire Council is handing over to the Ludlow Assembly Rooms as part of a policy of transferring services.