Kingston council is set to spend £1.7million repairing the roof of its town centre headquarters due to leaks either side of its clocktower.
The Guildhall, in Kingston, is a Grade II listed building used by the council which was officially opened in 1935.
The council’s corporate and resources committee approved a budget of £1.7m to carry out roof repairs at the Guildhall on September 28. The budget is set to fund the appointment of specialist consultants and contractors to carry out the required surveys, detailed design, construction and completion of the re-roofing and repair works to areas of the building.
A council report said a survey carried out on the Guildhall by design consultants had recommended the roof covering be replaced to “fix the leaking roofs on either side of the clocktower and undertake external repairs and redecoration works to maintain the building and extend its current useful life”.
The report said: “This will include replacing the lead parapet gutters along with ensuring all connecting rainwater outlets and goods are surveyed, tested and left in sound operational condition as some rainwater currently passes through the building’s fabric internally.”
The report also provided an update on wider council finances, with the authority facing an overspend of £3.4m in its general revenue budget for the 2023/24 financial year, as of July, against a total budget of £161.3m.
It said sector-wide demand pressures in adult and children’s social care and temporary accommodation were the most significant factors contributing to the overspend, along with wider economic conditions including high inflation and energy costs.
At the meeting, Lib Dem council leader Andreas Kirsch said the authority hoped to reduce the overspend quite considerably by the end of the financial year. He said the council was in a similar position to many local authorities across the UK.
Councillor Kirsch added it was positive that, out of the council’s planned £8.5m savings, £6.5m was considered to be on track to be delivered in full and only £0.8m was likely to be no longer achievable.