Welshpool town council were “shocked” at the state of disrepair to the town hall’s roof and clocktower after taking a closer look at the building.
After a piece of sandstone debris was found on the edge of Welshpool’s Town Hall roof, the town council’s operations team took a closer look at the roof with the use of a quick drone survey by team member Alex Jones.
Their findings were shown to the town council at a meeting on July 17, who were “shocked” at the state of the roof and acknowledged they could be facing a big repair bill.
The survey found that parts of the roof had deteriorated from years of weathering, with dove boxes on the clocktower overrun with moss that operations manager Paul McGrath said “will do the ceiling no good whatsoever”. He also added that parts of structure were “flaking and crumbling” and slates that were “teetering on the edge”.
OTHER NEWS:
- Public services set to be 'decimated' by four-town plan - warning
- Plans to convert Grade II listed building to 36-bed hostel approved
- Woman charged with two counts of drug driving in Powys town fails to attend court
The council’s finance officer Vanessa Voysey also told councillors that insurance would not cover the cost as the damage was due to “severe weathering over many years”.
(Image: Alex Jones)
Cllr David France said: “This is shocking to all of us and we want to know what needs to be done to make this safe.
"Renovating the town hall is one of our highest priorities, but that won’t be happening this week or this month while that slate is an urgent issue. What can be done to make it safe immediately?”
Mr McGrath said he would put forward a plan of action to deal with anything that could be an “immediate danger”, which could include fencing off a section of the building to pedestrians if there is a danger of falling debris.
(Image: Alex Jones)
In the long term, the council suggested consulting with experts on what repairs should be made and how best to go about them, as well as looking into funding what could be an expensive repair process.
Cllr Nick Howells said: “As well as the experts our operations manager has on call, I could get some other contacts through an ex-colleague of mine, the building surveyor at Powis Castle, as that’s also sandstone. I’m more than happy to get in touch and ask for some recommendations.”
(Image: Alex Jones)
Cllr France made a formal proposal, saying: “I propose we investigate the costs of works that would make the hall safe in the next few months until the more long-term project of town hall restoration can take place.”
Councillors unanimously agreed to the proposal.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here