Council bosses are seeking to recover all the costs of repairing two historic Tameside landmarks from the driver who crashed into them.
The Grade II listed Trough and cast iron transformer at the junction of Manchester Road and Audenshaw Road were badly damaged in an early morning collision at the end of May.
The granite horse and cattle drinking trough, which has been in place in Fairfield in Audenshaw since 1879, was smashed into several pieces after a BMW mounted the pavement and collided with it.
A cast iron electricity transformer which sits behind it containing the Manchester coat of arms and which used to contain three lamps to direct trams during the days of the Manchester Corporation was also flattened.
Denton MP Andrew Gwynne has now given an update to residents from the council about the process of restoring the much-loved landmarks.
The council has cleared the site, as the debris ‘presented a health and safety risk’ and its removal was needed to preserve the structures.
Chiefs are now in the process of applying for planning permission for listed building consent for the repair and reinstatement of the trough and transformer.
The post stated: “Clearly, at the heart of the considerations is ensuring that the historic value (significance) of the ‘building’ is preserved as far as possible.
“We have also applied to the DVLA and the police for the driver details with a view to recover all the costs from them.”
Officers have requested a number of quotes to ‘get a feel’ for the repair costs while the structure is being securely stored.
Mr Gwynne wrote: “Thank you to Tameside council, concerned residents and the local Audenshaw Councillors for their efforts at preserving this important heritage.”
According to Historic England the polished Cornish granite trough was installed on behalf of Miss M. Ashworth in 1879 as a rest stop at a time when both cattle and horses were still regular users of the public highways.
The front of it carries the inscription ‘the righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.’
In modern times locals have used it as a planter for flowers to brighten up the area with locals volunteering to maintain it.
