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In your situation I would speak to a structural engineer before any builders.
At the end of the day the specifying of any steels should be done by an engineer and will be covered by their professional indemnity insurance.
Bobbo-
Thanks, will most likely go this route as saving money is nice but not being crushed by a collapsing house is even nicer.
As the wall was knocked down so long ago and wasn't flagged when we moved in 12 months ago, I have a feeling we could get away with it. I can't see how anybody could prove it wasn't originally squared instead of being an arch. Interestingly the builder noticed the bricks nearer the door are in worse condition compared to the side against the party wall. He speculated this was from banging doors which is slightly worrying and reinforces getting a structural engineer's opinion.
jambon
I asked about regs/sign off and the builder said it wasn't needed as no footings were being dug and the footprint of the house wasn't changing. Thanks for mentioning, I'll do some searching if that's true.