Ossett Town Hall repairs nearly double to £3m

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

The cost of major renovation work at a town hall has more than doubled to almost £3m, a meeting has heard.

One councillor said parts of Ossett Town Hall were "rotten to pieces" and blamed the spiralling expense on drones being used to assess the building.

The site, on Market Place, has been surrounded by scaffolding since August last year.

Restoration work is being carried out on the roof of the building, clock tower and stonework.

Built in 1908, Ossett Town Hall served as a civic centre, magistrates' court and offices for Ossett Borough Council until 1974, when it became part of Wakefield Council.

'Rotten to pieces'

Tony Homewood, independent councillor for Ossett, told a meeting he had found out about the extent of the work required during a tour of the building.

"We went all the way up to the town hall clock, which is rotten to pieces and having to be all replaced.

"What came to light on this visit was that, somewhere along the line, somebody decided to carry out a survey on a building that's over 100 years old, with a drone.

"Quite clearly, you can't carry out a proper survey on a building of that nature with a drone."

Mr Homewood said he had been told by the contractor that they had been asked to give a quote for the work based on the drone footage.

He asked why the person responsible had not been asked for an explanation.

"We have now got a budget that went from £1.2m, I believe, and it is almost approaching £3m," he added.

In response, Councillor Les Shaw, cabinet member for property and resource, said the authority needed to "look at how we do things better in the future".

Natalie Palmer, the council's interim service director for property, previously said additional work had to follow strict guidance and this had led to "unexpected delays".

Work had been expected to be completed by the end of this year, but Wakefield Council has said it is not going to be finished until next summer, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.