A section of the curtain wall at a Wiltshire castle could be dismantled to allow construction vehicles access for the planned restoration work on the historic building.

Devizes Castle is a 19th-century, Grade I country house built on the location of a fortification constructed around 1080 by Bishop Osmund of Salisbury, Nephew of William the Conqueror.

The Victorian-era castle lies in the heart of the county on a 2.4-acre lot in the centre of the town.

The applicant, Mr Kazuhiko Akao, purchased the majority of the northern part of the castle and most of the grounds in February 2022.

Wiltshire Council recently approved “urgent conservation-led repairs”, after the owner reported that “inadequate” previous maintenance had left roofs leaking, boundary walls collapsing and parapets wobbling.

The scheduled monument is even on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register due to its risk of  “collapse.”

To allow these repairs to begin, a new application has been submitted to alter an access point from Castle Road.

The application states: “The works proposed under this application are to carefully dismantle a 2.0 metre long section of the existing curtain wall on the east side of the existing access gate from Castle Road into the castle grounds to enable construction vehicle access.

“As part of these works, the raised planting bed on the inner side will also need to be lowered as part of the temporary access.

“Upon completion of proposed works, the dismantled section of curtain wall would be reinstated on a like-for-like basis with the set-aside stonework.

“Any previous damage or repairs would be rectified so that the wall is left in good working order.”

It adds that all works proposed to be carried out will be done so in a “careful and sensitive manner” and will be undertaken by “a specialist tradesman using appropriate methods.”

The proposals also indicate that traditional materials will be used to match the existing wall and that all dismantled materials will be marked and set aside in a secure, weather-proof environment.

According to the application, the wall has “fragments of stonework originating from the castle and possibly material salvaged from elsewhere, including the mid-19th century refacing of the adjoining church of St John the Baptist.”

It also suggests that the curtain walls follow the historic lines of the previous, medieval castle walls.

Wiltshire Council is due to make a decision by Wednesday, May 8.