COUNCILLORS have approved plans to rebuild a collapsed section of a wall at St Mary’s Church in Lymm.

Warrington Borough Council’s application to take down and rebuild a section of the wall – including new stone clad structural supporting piers – came before the development management committee on Thursday.

It was approved, subject to conditions.

According to a report to the committee, the application site is the boundary wall to the north of the church, and close to the boundary wall is the existing grave yard and the war memorial.

It stated that the church is a Grade II listed building and the war memorial is also a Grade II listed structure, and ‘as the wall is the boundary wall associated with the church and it is a structure that pre-dates July 1948 and is within the curtilage of the listed building the wall is classed as being curtilage listed’.

The report said: “This application seeks planning permission for the rebuilding of a collapsed section of wall including new external brick built piers to increase the stability of the wall.

“The replacement wall would have the same height and appearance as the wall that has collapsed and would re-use the existing material for the wall with matching materials proposed for the new piers on the outside of the wall.

“When the wall collapsed in 2020, it was cordoned off with a safety area surrounding it to ensure that no one is hurt as a result of a further wall collapse and this has meant that it is not possible to access areas of the closed graveyard including the location of the war memorial since then.”

It also said the proposed rebuilding of the wall would be ‘in keeping’ with the character of the existing wall, the conservation area and the setting of the adjacent listed buildings and, as such, the proposed development would ‘not have an adverse impact’ upon the conservation area – and that the proposal is ‘appropriate development’ in the green belt.