New plan to repair wall will hopefully see it on show soon

RESIDENTS are rightly proud of some of the city’s fine historical gems, so the fact that part of the Roman wall has been hidden away for so long is a shame.

February marked five years since the section of the wall on Bartholomew Street East crumbled into the pub harden of the City Gate Hotel behind.

Last summer, a planning application for the repairs was submitted on behalf of Exeter City Council, which is responsible for maintaining the wall.

It was thought a nearby tree may have caused the collapse by cracking the masonry. The tree has since been removed and any dangerous brickwork taken down.

It was hoped that repairs would start in January this year and the wall would be back to looking its best by June.

However, Devon Archaeological Society and Devon Buildings Group questioned the council’s assertion that the section of the wall was not a listed structure or a scheduled monument.

The organisations also said part of the suggested method of repairing the wall could cause “considerable” damage to below-ground parts of the structure. They also said the plans needed to include detailed recordings of masonry prior in order to prevent “important archaeological evidence” being “destroyed or obliterated”.

The original planning application was withdrawn and a revised one has now been submitted. It maintains the section of the wall is not a scheduled monument, but has proposed a new method of repair which – the council will hope – will not cause damage to the wall and leave those concerned over protecting the city’s history happier with the plan of action.

There are also plans for excavation “under the supervision/guidance of the clientappointed archaeologists” to see what they’re dealing with before work starts.

No doubt the proposal will be closely scrutinised again, but we hope we’re now a step closer to seeing this part of the wall repaired and brought back out from behind the screens once again for all to see and savour.