TIVERTON Road has finally reopened after nearly a year of closure due to scaffolding.

The structural supports, which have been in place since January, were due for removal on Monday, with the road set to reopen on Wednesday this week.

Structural external masonry work began on the Manor house Hotel in January, and the road has been at least partly closed ever since.

The Devon County Council issued a scaffolding licence for the property on Tiverton Road opposite the hotel, extending the street’s closure.

Councillor Richard Chesterton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, said “This is clearly good news for the people of Cullompton and for businesses in the town centre.

“The Council has been working hard to ensure that the poor structural condition of the building and the public safety concerns have been addressed.

“We have kept pressure on the owner to compete the works, coordinated efforts and provided extensive heritage advice as it is a high grade listed building.

“This has been achieved without the need for compulsory purchase, a longer process and at public expense.”

The County Council have said that they did not intent to extend the licence for the Tiverton Road property opposite the hotel, and they expected scaffolding to be removed on Tuesday.

The council initially served a building repair notice on the Manor House Hotel on December 2, last year after they identified significant cracking.

This was then seen to have increased and in January repair work was set to start.

For the work, Tiverton Road and part of Fore Street were closed to traffic.

Fore Street has since reopened, with parking restrictions put in place in August for 18 months, or until Tiverton Road reopened.

However, this may not be the end of the saga for the Grade II* listed building.

Further works are scheduled to take place in the spring and will require the scaffolding to return.

It is estimated that it will take between four and six weeks to apply further lime render coats, although this is dependent on weather.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council added: “We urge the property owner to design the scaffolding so that it does not project into the highway and cause a further closure of Tiverton Road in the spring.”