Town hall repair bill has £1.9m funding gap

Restoration work is being carried out on the roof of the building, clock tower and stonework at Ossett Town Hall

The cost of renovations at Ossett Town Hall has risen to more than £4.3m, according to Wakefield Council.

The local authority said it had been left with a £1.9m funding gap as costs to carry out renovations on the building had more than doubled.

Senior councillors are expected to agree to release a further £1m to complete the work when they meet on June 18.

Restoration work to the Grade II listed building, on Market Place, is being carried out to the roof, clock tower and stonework.

'Additional works'

The project also involves relocating the town’s library from the ground floor to the first floor, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In April, further repair work to the clock tower was approved to prevent the building from becoming "structurally unsound" after steel beams were found to be corroded.

Details of the spiralling costs were outlined in a report to the council’s cabinet members.

The document said the initial project involved relocating the library and £500,000 of funding was granted in 2018.

In 2020, the council approved an additional budget of £1.7m after it was discovered that major renovations were needed.

The report added: “Following a procurement exercise to appoint a contractor and further additional works being identified, a total budget of £4.3m is now required to complete the project, resulting in a funding gap of £1.9m.”

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