Work to start at Glossop Town Hall

Work to replace the roof and repair the clock at Glossop Town Hall will start in the next few weeks.

High Peak Borough Council announced earlier this year that it would be investing in this important heritage building to safeguard its future by halting further deterioration of the roof.

In the months since then, a specialist team of architects, surveyors and asbestos specialists has been working to design and cost the project to renovate the roof, remove all of the asbestos in the roof space, replace the gutters and the parapets and repair the clock.

The Council has now agreed the work programme and the contractors will be on site in the coming weeks.

Council Leader, Councillor Tony Ashton, said: "This is a complex project at a historic building in the busy town centre so there has been much to plan for, but I'm delighted that we are now at the stage where the work can begin.

"We've made every effort to ensure the work causes as little inconvenience as possible for businesses and shoppers and the Arcade shops and markets will continue to trade as normal throughout. We'll continue to work closely with them as the work gets underway.

"We're also very mindful of our responsibilities in relation to the removal of the asbestos. I can reassure everyone that we have a comprehensive set of measures in place both to comply with the relevant regulations and to monitor air quality for the duration of the works."

The first thing people will see is the scaffolding and environmental wrap which will cover the Town Hall. This will be followed in stages by work to remove the asbestos; remove and replace the roof; an environmental clean; and assessment of the clock.

Scaffolding is also going to be erected around the exterior of Market Hall to allow for investigation of the roof following slate slippage earlier this year.

Councillor Ashton added: "Replacing the Town Hall roof is key to returning the building to public use which is why we are carrying out this work now. But, as I have said previously, this does not mean the end of our plans to develop the Halls and we'll continue to work on options for a revised bid to the HLF whilst the roof work is taking place."