Residents of Dartmouth will be hoping that a resolution to a more than two-year saga that has impacted a key route could soon be over.

A private wall at the edge of Warfleet Road collapsed back in February 2024, rendering the vital route into the town impassable.

Residents had urged Devon County Council to take action to repair the wall so that drivers could use the road again.

But the council had stated that its responsibilities in this situation cover highways, and not the repair of private walls.

That stance was adopted by the previous Conservative administration, and was initially maintained by the Liberal Democrats.

However, due to a seeming impasse over the repair of the wall, the county council has now taken a step towards resolving the situation, with the suggestion that it will seek to recover any money it spends doing so.

“The county council has been working to secure access to the private road and land beneath the failed wall in order to survey the failure with a view to designing a scheme to allow Warfleet Road to be reopened,” a spokesperson for Devon County Council said.

“The county council will fully consider all appropriate recourse against any parties deemed liable for the cost of repairs.”

An online petition launched when the wall first failed secured nearly 900 signatures, and Dartmouth residents have attended full council meetings at Devon County Council to publicise their plight.

At one of those meetings, a written petition was presented with around 2,500 signatures secured with the help of the Warfleet Warriors Action Group.

Towards end of March this year, Councillor Simon Rake, Liberal Democrat for Dartmouth, told Dartmouth Town Council that the county council had issued a statement confirming its intention to repair the wall and subsequently repair the road.

He called this “positive news”, adding it “represented a firm commitment from Devon County Council”.