A historic wall and gate will finally be repaired more than eight months after a car crash destroyed them.

The vehicle, which was carrying two people, smashed into the entrance of Upnor Castle House, in Upnor, at around 10pm on September 2.

The emergency services, including police, paramedics and fire crews, attended and used cutting equipment to free one of the occupants who was trapped.

The passenger was seriously injured during the incident and taken to a London hospital.

Pictures from the crash show the gold vehicle smashed into the wall with its front bonnet crushed and the wall and gate collapsed around it.

The owner of the Grade-II listed mansion has now submitted a planning application to Medway Council to repair the entrance and automate the gates in line with the listed building requirements.

According to the submitted documents, the bricks have been dismantled and retained and the gates will include wrought iron strap hinges and ironmongery made to match the originals.

A piece of artwork of Queen Elizabeth I, which was mounted on the pier, is also set to be restored after it suffered minor paint damage.

Applicant Joanne Baylis has already had the plans approved by officers to reconstruct the front wall and renew the timber gates.

However, according to the submitted design and access statement, the new proposals to add an automated system will allow access to be “significantly quicker” and stop vehicles backing up and causing traffic.

It adds the equipment required to automate the gates will not be seen from the road meaning “the character of the conservation area will not be compromised”.

The application states Ms Baylis has “serious security concerns” due to the makeshift entrance, in Upnor Road, and if approved the latest works will help relieve this.

Although the nearby Upnor Castle is managed by Medway Council, repairing responsibilities for Upnor Castle House and its associated structures falls on the private freeholder of the property.

Temporary hoardings have been put up around the property’s entrance in the meantime.

Find out about planning applications and other public notices in your area here.

Upnor Castle House, which dates from the 1600s, was put up for sale for the first time in its history August 2022.

The royalty-hosting mansion has an illustrious military history dating back centuries and stands in the shadow of the Elizabethan artillery fort.

It was built by the Admiralty as a cottage for the senior officer in charge of the castle, which was tasked with protecting warships at nearby Chatham Dockyard.

In later years it became married living quarters for high-ranking army and Royal Navy personnel.

That was until the 1980s when the Ministry of Defence started to sell off huge chunks of its property portfolio.

In 1985 it was bought by naval commander Felix Barber who left the deeds to his daughter Nicky and son Justin when he died in 2001.

Nicky had lived there ever since with her husband and two children before deciding to put the mid-17th century property up on the market for £2.25 million.

Set in four acres, the house boasts tennis courts, a swimming pool, croquet lawn, nine bedrooms, a holiday cottage and separate outbuilding.