‘Unstable’ Walsall churchyard wall to be demolished and rebuilt
An historic Walsall church’s ‘unstable’ wall which forced the closure of its rear yard will be demolished.
Walsall Council planners have given the go-ahead for a St Peter’s Church wall, which is in poor condition, to be removed and a new one built in its place.
The concerns about the structure resulted in the local authority closed off the rear churchyard but the issue had been resolved and the area made safe.
St Peter’s Church, on Stafford Street, was built in 1841 and awarded Grade II listed status in 1986.
Agents Baart Harries Newall said: “St Peter’s Church is Grade II listed, and is in regular use as a vibrant place of worship.
“The website lists a number of community initiative which are also delivered from the church.
“The church is in the ownership of the Church of England, but the churchyard is closed and maintained by Walsall Council. For health and safety reasons, the council have closed off the rear of the churchyard until the west boundary wall has been repaired.
“The structural engineers report by GHW Consulting Engineers Ltd concludes that the wall is beyond repair, and needs to be taken down and rebuilt – and I concur with this view."
They added: “The wall is to be carefully taken down by hand, and the existing clay coping and bricks cleaned and stacked for re-use.
“The wall will be rebuilt on new footings, with additional concrete block retaining construction below ground on the up-hill side to the west.
“The concrete block work will be covered over by the surface of the path to the west, and will not be visible above ground.
“The wall will be re-constructed in accordance with the structural engineers details, using existing bricks reclaimed and matching second hand bricks to replace those which are lost or defective.
“The existing blue clay angle copings will be refitted, with second hand copings to match where these are missing to the southern half of the west boundary wall.”
