£200,000 facelift for Weymouth's crumbling Guildhall

Repairs costing up to £200,000 have started on Weymouth's Guildhall.

Today (Tuesday 31 May), the Borough Council begins extensive structural repair work on the Guildhall in Weymouth. According to the Dorset Echo last September, work to reconnect stonework and the backing masonry is expected to cost £38,000 and work that will include opening up infilled windows will cost a further £27,000. Professional fees have not been listed in this cost and the total is therefore expected to be £92,000. This is the officers' recommended option while a more comprehensive reconstruction scheme is estimated at £190,000.

Councillors were also warned last year that £100,000 worth of repairs will have to be done to the St Edmund Street elevation of the Guildhall. The building is Grade II* listed. A specialist conservation building firm, St Blaise, of Dorchester, has been contracted to undertake the works.

A report commissioned by the Borough Council indicates that there are serious structural problems to the St Mary Street elevation, some of which is due to faults which date back to the original construction of the building in the 1830s.

During the works, disruption to traffic flow is expected to be minimal. The road adjacent to the Guildhall will remain open to cars and motorbikes during the works, although heavy goods vehicles and lorries will not be able to use the small section of road until work is complete.

The Council expects the external work to be finished at the end of July.

A Council spokesperson said: "The Council would like to assure residents that disruption will be kept to an absolute minimum during the repairs. It is important that the Council carries out these works as soon as possible, as the building is currently unsafe, and its condition may deteriorate further. A budget for these essential repairs was agreed by councillors last year."

Last year, councillors said the Guildhall will probably be sold with its future use being envisaged as a bar or restaurant. Scaffolding was put up this year when officers called in structural engineers.