Crucial restoration work to Town Hall gets underway

Rochdale Town Hall roof is undergoing extensive restoration

Crucial restoration work to safeguard the future of Rochdale Town Tall gets underway this week.

The Grade I Listed building, which is 142-years-old, will be temporarily surrounded by scaffolding while phases one and two of delicate restoration works to the roof take place.

Wear and tear on the roof over time has led to small leaks, which could damage the heritage features inside the building if not repaired.

The work will see specialist staff from English Heritage work with builders, council staff and Rochdale Development Agency to supervise the removal and replacement of around 30 tonnes of slate tiles on the roof, many of which have been become dislodged over time. They will then make any necessary repairs to the timber underneath.

In order to retain the building’s original look, the team will source the replacement roof slates from the Burlington Slate quarry in Kirby in Furness where the slates were taken from back when the roof was originally constructed in 1870.

They will also source the original oak timber to ensure all materials are faithful to the Victorian design.

The scaffolding has been specially designed to ensure it is freestanding so the building is not damaged in any way.

In order to the get maximum benefit from the work, staff on site will respond to any other issues they pick up while on the roof and specialist tradesmen may be drafted in if repairs need to be made to the gargoyles and other features on the roof.

Councillor Martin Burke, Cabinet Member for Arts and Heritage at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We have worked hard with key interested parties, including English Heritage, to ensure that every aspect of this project is undertaken in a way that will preserve the unique and stunning features of this building.”

The work is expected to be completed around the end of January 2014 and once completed, other work, including rewiring and further improvements to the roof, will take place.

The Town Hall will remain open throughout. However, a small number of parking spaces will be out of use while the work takes place, but the vast majority of the car park will remain open.