Road closures will be in place during a special ceremony to mark the restoration of Sandiway ’s historic Round Tower.
Construction workers have spent almost a year painstakingly rebuilding the iconic landmark on the A556 after it was completely destroyed when a car smashed into it in November 2013, forcing Cheshire West and Chester Council to demolish it for health and safety reasons.
Since then, stone specialists have worked meticulously to combine new sandstone with some of the tower’s original bricks to ensure it looks as fresh as it did when it was first built in the early years of the 19th century.
Now, almost two years after its demolition, building work has finally finished and to celebrate, a special ribbon-cutting event has been planned for local people to mark the occasion.
It will be held on Monday July 27 at 10.30am and the community will be able to watch the celebration from a special viewing area on Norley Road, opposite the tower.
Cheshire West and Chester Council have advised the public that roads in Sandiway will be closed between 10am and 11am to allow the event to take place safely.
For eastbound traffic, there will be a full closure of the A556 eastbound with a signed diversion via the A49 and A559, and for westbound traffic, there will be a lane closure on lane two (the fast lane) from a safe point near to the entrance to Sandiway Golf Club.
Charles Fifield, local councillor for Weaver and Cuddington said he was ‘delighted’ the Round Tower is part of the local landscape once again. “We have all watched with interest as the giant ‘jigsaw’ of our beloved Tower has been pieced together stone by stone. It now looks wonderful and we wanted to mark the completion of the project in some way.”
Cllr Fifield added: “The celebration event will involve a ribbon cutting ceremony with local dignitaries and children from our local schools.”
Driver Lesley Davis admitted a charge of dangerous driving at Chester Crown Court following the incident, and the restoration project has been funded by her insurance.
She was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to take an extended re-test before she could regain her licence. She was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £340 and a victim surcharge of £40 was also made against her.
