Costly Town Hall roof decision to go behind closed doors
The debate has rumbled on for six months after masonry was found to be falling from the clock tower, with more damage discovered during a drone survey towards the end of last summer.
The initial news stunned the Town Council who set aside an immediate £20,000 for emergency repairs, but work has been delayed due to the struggle to find a qualified scaffolding contractor to work on a listed building at such a height.
It is undoubtedly going to be a costly exercise with Town Council officers investigating various financial options such as grants, but we won’t be able to report on progress after a decision was made by a sub-committee last night to continue the discussions in private sessions.
A Project Management Working Team was due to provide an update, including the suggestion that funds be committed to “engage a building surveyor to take control of organising scaffolding for the roof”.
But at last night’s Property and Services Committee meeting, it was announced that this topic would be discussed during the private session at the end of the meeting.
This means: “In view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted, it is advisable in the public interest that the press and public be temporarily excluded, and they are instructed to withdraw, due to the nature of the business about to be transacted which is considered to be prejudicial to the public interest.”
The Town Hall has become a costly headache for the people of Welshpool, and is currently the subject of an ongoing consultation over its future use.
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