Experts have supported plans to repair an essential flood protection barrier in Tavistock to maintain the safety of the town centre.

The town council general manager has lodged a planning application with West Devon Borough Council for the work on the river wall on Market Road between the East Gate Cafe and the Environment Agency measuring station.

The proposed repair work is being treated as a priority project, despite the mounting financial pressures on the authority from energy, wage and insurance costs.

Holes, caused by an unnamed agency, have appeared in the six-foot high stone wall which is about 150 years old, on the banks of the River Tavy.

A hydraulic engineer contracted to report on the plans said the river has a reputation as one of the fastest flowing in the country because it drops more than 560 metres over 28km and has little room to enter the rocky ground. These features, combined with the steep ground either side of the river, means floods are caused by rapid rises in and falls in water levels during winter, therefore, the wall was an essential flood defence.

He supported the planned remedial work be completed between June and September next year, outside the fish spawning season and to match periods associated with seasonal low river flow levels.

Part of the work, estimated at about £170,000, will underpin the wall and be underwater. This requires a cofferdam to be built temporarily, in front of which water will be pumped out to create a dry area, enabling construction work to continue below the water level.

The engineer concluded: ‘The repairs would not cause any change to the course of the river and were necessary to prevent failure of the river bank retaining wall which could result in increased flood risk to the town and nearby commercial and domestic properties.’

In addition, part of the wall above the hole must be demolished to remove large roots and vegetation which could cause it to collapse. Parking is now banned to avoid disturbance to the damaged section.