AN APPLICATION to demolish part of Pembroke’s historic town wall has been submitted to county planners.

The application, by Richard Naylor of 36 Main Street, seeks to allow pedestrian access to the rear of number 36 by opening up part of the Grade 2 listed building wall.

A report for planners states the proposed access would enable cultivation of a burgage plot to the rear and enable residential development.

The town walls are believed to have been established in the 13th Century, but parts of it, along Millpond Walk, are later, the report, citing the book The buildings of Wales, Pembrokeshire, by Lloyd, Orbach and Scourfield, states.

The report concludes: “It would seem the present wall, although important as a physical reminder of the ancient wall, is not the original either in actuality or exact location.”

It adds that nearly half the burgage plots backing on to the town’s Mill Pond Walk have openings on to the walk.

“It is obvious that these openings were not ancient, but came into being in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, when the defensive function of the town wall had become obsolete and the town’s civic fortunes were in the ascendant,” it adds.

The report states that, although number 36 has no evidence of a former opening, it is likely to have had one in the past, with the possibility that all properties backing on to Mill Pond Walk may, at one time, have had access to the river.

The application will be considered at a later date.