Ellesmere Town Hall's leaky roof must be replaced

Ellesmere Town Council has set aside £40,000 in earmarked reserves to repair the problem and provide a new entrance foyer at the hall on Willow Street.

Another £25,000 has been set aside for work in the main hall – ventilation, sound proofing, heating – while £3,000 has been earmarked for re-varnishing the floor.

The flat roof on the hall has been a problem since April 2013 when it sprang a leak in up to four places.

Joanne Butterworth, assistant clerk at Ellesmere Town Council, said: "The town hall will not withstand another winter.

"We are trying to look and find different solutions. It is still leaking and hopefully we will get it sorted this year."

The roof has been described as a "patchwork" of repairs but councillor Ian Ward, mayor of Ellesmere, said it was about time a "long-term" solution was found.

He said: "We are still progressing with the town hall roof.

"We have earmarked £40,000 for improvement work and hope to carry this out this year.

"There have been on-going problems with it for a while now. Every time it rains it leaks.

"The reserves are just an estimate and more money may need to be set aside for the work. We will apply for grants for the extra money if needed. It will not be funded by council tax.

"The roof has been patched up in the past and it has had lead stolen off it, but now the roof really needs to be replaced."

The building was constructed in the 1960s and councillors have been known to have buckets dotted around to catch the leaking water.

The hall hosts a range of community groups, public meeting and functions throughout the year.

It offers three rooms for hire, a kitchen and licensed bar.

Last year work to repair the leaking roof of Ellesmere Market Hall was completed.

Shropshire Council funded the work to replace parts of the roof on the market hall which had been leaking for more than three and a half years.

All Together Ellesmere, which leases the building on Scotland Street from the council, took over the running of the market hall, which had been operating at a loss, in 2013 from Shropshire Council.

Work to tidy up the building after the change involved creating a new kitchen thanks to a grant of £11,620 from Shropshire Council's Market Towns Revitalisation Programme.

The cost of the work to the market hall roof has not been revealed.