Have we heard the last chime from the Town Hall clock?

Welshpool may never hear the chimes from its Town Hall clock again after it was revealed that vibrations could be a contributor to the clock tower becoming unsafe.

The Town Council faces a potential bill of up to £6 million to save its iconic Town Hall, with emergency work carried out last week to prevent debris from the roof falling to the ground.

The green-faced clock has also recently stopped again, despite £85,000 being spent just 12 years ago to clean and refurbish it after ‘40 years of pigeon poo’ had caused major mechanical problems.

But the recent survey that highlighted the awful condition of the Grade II-listed building revealed that vibrations caused by the bell every hour contributed to the overall deterioration of the tower.

At last night’s Strategy, Policy and Development meeting, Cllr Morag Bailey asked when the clock may be working again after “being harangued by a member of the public”, to which the Town Mayor, Cllr Phil Owen, replied: “As far as I recall from the report, wasn’t there an issue from the bell vibration and its movement was actually something that could exacerbate the damage?”

The committee chair, Cllr Phil Pritchard, added: “It is something that will have to be addressed. You can spend all the money you like, but if you carry on with the bell going like that, then in 10, 15 years or 20 years’ time you are going to have the same problem.

“It is something the Town Council is going to have to address.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Bailey’s query about a timescale for the clock to be working again was also met by a somewhat gloomy response.

“I am aware there is one comment that was made by the surveyor that no-one is allowed to go up the clock tower at this moment until the repairs have been done,” said Cllr Pritchard. “That’s no-one, not even the clock repairers. I can assure you that as soon as it is safe to go up there, then a specialist firm can go up there to sort it.”