Fears have been raised that the clock tower on Welshpool Town Hall may be crumbling after a piece of debris was found on the roof.
Following an inspection of the town hall’s roof, the operations team discovered a piece of sandstone from the building’s clocktower on the ledge of the roof, having broken off at some point in the past few weeks.
Operations manager Paul McGrath presented the chunk of sandstone to the town council at its services and property committee meeting on June 19, telling members the missing piece was likely due to weather damage or general deterioration.
Cllr David France called the damage “extremely concerning” and said the piece of sandstone “demonstrated the urgency” of the situation.
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Town mayor Cllr Phil Owen said: “Architects have already flagged this up as a possibility. They have done a drone survey of the roof but have said it likely needs looking at by specialists. That work will probably be done as stage one of the town hall development we have planned.
“But, if pieces are falling off there’s a danger to the public we need to get specialists up there get a proper structural survey done, specifically at the tower but while they’re up there they might as well take a look at the whole roof to take a look and do what’s needed.
“If there is a danger, we would have to close off the pavement beneath and limit access to the town hall.”
Cllr Phil Pritchard agreed, adding: “If something happened and we didn’t know about it that’d be one thing.
"But if someone gets hurt now that we’re aware, we are liable. We shouldn’t waste a minute’s time and should get straight on with this.”
A few councillors asked whether any costs to repair the structure could fall under insurance, but were told by finance officer Vanessa Voysey that insurance covered incidents like the weather damage of a loose tile on the roof from late last year, but overall “wear and tear” on the roof would not be.
Cllr Billy Spencer made a note to ask whether it was possible the piece of sandstone found on the roof was the result of weather damage as well.
Councillors agreed to follow Cllr Owen’s suggestion that they bring in an expert to carry out a full structural survey of the tower and roof.
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