Kettering cultural project 'started before roof cost known'

The Cornerstone extension remains closed

Work on a cultural project would not have started if the cost of repairing the roof of the buildings had been known earlier, a meeting has been told.

The Cornerstone in Kettering, Northamptonshire, was designed to turn the library, art gallery and museum into one centre.

A new extension is yet to open because the library and art gallery roof is crumbling.

Councillors have earmarked almost £7m for repairs.

Plans had already been drawn up to replace the 120-year-old roof of the Grade II listed buildings as it was deteriorating, but the situation worsened during the winter of 2022 and water leaked into the library and the new extension.

Last month's torrential rain made matters worse, according to North Northamptonshire Council (NNC), and forced the closure of the library and gallery.

Staff have had to mop up the water that has got into the building through the roof

North Northamptonshire Council's (NNC) Executive, who met this week, agreed that £6.81m should be taken as a loan to fund the repair work.

Mark Rowley told the meeting he was on Kettering Borough Council's executive when the Cornerstone project was given the go-ahead, while the library was being run by the now defunct Northamptonshire County Council (NCC).

He said: "If NCC had mentioned the state of the roof, I'm certain the exec wouldn't have approved the project and would've told NCC to get the roof sorted out first.

"Hindsight is brilliant. It's a beautiful building [and] has to be protected."

Helen Howell, NNC's executive member for culture & tourism, said: "If the building is not made water-tight as soon as practicably possible there is a further risk that water ingress will damage the structure of the building."

She added that a total of just £300,000 was put aside for roof repairs in the original Cornerstone budget, and the figure was "not even a drop in the ocean" compared to the cost of a full replacement.

Services will temporarily be relocated elsewhere during the repair work and the full project could take around two years to complete.