Concerns were first raised last year when Dandara submitted plans to knock down two properties in New Road and replace them with one one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom flats, as well as a two-bedroom house.
The demolition of the wall, which is over 200 years old, formed part of the plans.
Dandara later submitted amended plans which included lowering the wall instead of demolishing it.
However, Fraser Martin, a resident of Gorey Village, has said he is still not satisfied with the amended proposal and is calling for the wall to be officially protected and preserved in its entirety.
He believes that the issue boils down to ‘money versus history’.
Mr Martin said: ‘Part of the current plans of the new build, if approved, necessitate taking the old wall down and then rebuilding it, meaning it will not be the same.
‘If this happens it will be an absolute tragedy and will negatively impact Gorey Village’s historic value and intrinsic charm. There are 14 listed buildings which are a stone’s throw away from the wall, seven of which are opposite or run adjacent to the wall and are all listed so as to preserve the streetscape of the area.’
Adrian Huckson, technical director of Dandara, said in response to Mr Fraser’s concerns that the wall was unsafe and needed to be altered for health and safety reasons.
‘It is our intention to retain the existing wall along New Road and simply lower it to a safe height. The original plan was to remove the wall and widen the road.
‘But following residents’ objections we withdrew the proposal and resubmitted the current amendments, and as it stands now, the existing granite wall will be lowered to create front gardens for the new cottages,’ he said.
‘And any reclaimed stone from the unstable existing wall will be reutilised in extending the granite wall around our development,’ added Mr Huckson.
But Mr Martin said he believed a decision to alter the wall in any way would be a ‘tragedy’.
He said: ‘To me, this is a case of money versus history and it beggars belief that such an old wall that pre-dates records would be taken apart.’
