CHESHIRE West and Chester Council have confirmed that permanent repair work on St Oswald's Church will begin from Monday, August 15 with the closure of Church Street to follow later.

The church in Malpas had previously had repair work performed to make the site safe but the new work should mean a long lasting solution. The wall initially collapsed in January 2021 after a series of heavy storms.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore confirmed that the design for the repair have been finalised and the required approvals secured.

The contractors carrying out the repairs have permission to work Monday to Saturday starting at 8am at the earliest and finishing no later than 5pm.

The wall repair works will not require any road closures initially. However, it will become necessary later as the work progresses, to protect the public and the workforce, for a closure to be put in place on Church Street.

This closure will be carried out under a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order. Details will be published in the Chester Standard and on the Public Notices page of the Council’s website a fortnight before the closure is implemented. In addition, road signs will be placed on site at least one week in advance.

The works are expected to be finished by autumn 2022. This is subject to there being no unexpected disruptions to the work.

Councillor Shore said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank residents and businesses for their patience and support. The repair of the wall is a complex engineering project due to the sensitivity and historic significance of the site.

"When combined with the age of the wall this has meant it has not been a straightforward repair. We will continue to do all we can to ensure these works are carried out as quickly as possible."

The Council will be taking the opportunity in early August (shortly before the works on the wall) to carry out improvements to make some roads in the area safer for the travelling public. This will require the closure of Mastiff Lane for an anticipated two-day period.

Although these local roads do not form part of the official diversion route, the Council’s Highways team is aware they will be used by more traffic when the Church Street closure is in place.