Town Council could ask charity for financial help to fix Town Hall

With Welshpool still unsure about how much it could cost to fix its crumbling Town Hall clock tower, councillors will tonight consider asking a town charity for help.

Problems came to the fore this summer when a drone inspection revealed the extent of the damage, and last week, Town Council Operations Manager Paul McGrath explained that contracting an appropriate company to sort the issue was proving a challenge.

The council has already set aside £20,000 from its reserves to carry out immediate safety work, but there are quiet concerns that a lot more could be needed.

At tonight’s Full Council meeting, councillors will be asked to approach the town’s Burgess Lands Trust which is a charity set up in 1761 to “provide income to support the running cost and repair of the Town Council's buildings”.

It also has a secondary objective that “when this objective has been met in full then the income can go towards the poor and needy”.

The charity annually hands out grants to local organisations, but has itself been under pressure in recent years having lost money through ill-advised investments. However, it is now back on its feet with new trustees and has restarted its grants.

Other topics set to be discussed tonight include the Land Development Plan.