A local pub has said it is committed to pay for vital repair work at a major historical landmark in Warwick, after a fresh application for the project was signed off.

Permission to rebuild an 80-metre-long stretch of boundary wall between the Saxon Mill and the Grade II listed Guy's Cliffe Park and Garden was signed off last year.

But the Coventry Road pub - which is owned by Mitchells and Butler - has now been given then green light for a second application which will see less invasive work completed on the wall.

Currently the sandstone structure is supported by wooden props to protect walkers along the neighbouring footpath.

Plans signed off last year would have seen much of the wall rebuilt, but the latest scheme approved by Warwick District Council (WDC) will instead see 18 metal buttresses installed to support it.

"The applicant now proposes to re-align the wall with 18 no. galvanised steel posts embedded within concrete bases," the application said.

"Whereas the previous scheme required a substantial section of the wall to be disassembled and rebuilt, the new proposal only requires local repairs around the archway."

Plans still state Mitchells and Butler will pay for the works.

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Guy's Cliffe's dates back to the Saxon era. A chapel was established on the site in the 15th century before it became a manor house during the Tudor era.

The Saxon Mill pub was once part of the estate.

Signing off on the plans, a WDC report said: "Whilst there will be minor disruption to the historic fabric of the archway, this will be limited as much as is possible and is viewed as an essential action to prevent future collapse, which would cause greater harm overall.

"This proposal would allow for the removal of the large existing large wooden props and screening which are currently in place to ensure the safety of the public, an action which would visually improve the setting of both listed heritage assets and that of the listed park and garden."

"The boundary wall in question is currently unstable and requires intervention to prevent potential future collapse," it added.

"Metal posts have been proposed to shore up the wall which will not require disturbance to the fabric."

See the full plans here.

(Header images by google.maps and Lydia via Flickr)

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