CHESHIRE West and Chester Council have said work to repair St Oswald's Church wall has been slowed by the discovery of ancient unmarked graves.
The Council say that work is expected to be completed by March 31, 2023, but that several factors have complicated the process, including the unearthing of nearly thirty sets of human remains when excavating to create the wall's anchoring system.
The remains are buried in unmarked graves, which are also not captured in the Malpas church's burial records. Each time remains are discovered, the excavation work must be halted to allow the on-site archaeologists to carefully retrieve and catalogue the findings.
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The council say arrangements will now be made with the church for the re-burial of the remains.
It will be possible to re-open Church Street from Friday, March 3, with temporary traffic signals, but full road closure will be necessary for the period 27 to 31 March, after which the roads will be fully re-opened.
These dates are subject to there being no additional unexpected disruptions to the work.
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