Westhoughton Town Hall building to be made 'safe'

Essential repairs are now taking place on  Westhoughton Town Hall where masonry  fell off the building in December last year.

Longer terms plans to secure the future of the building to announced in the coming days.

Ward councillor Cllr Martin Tighe, says that it is more “urgent” than ever that work gets started on the building as soon as possible, before someone is seriously hurt.

He said: “It has now gone from being important to urgent, and we can’t wait another two or three months without work starting.

“All it takes is for one brick to fall, and then the next brick, and then it’s a domino effect, and somebody is going to get hurt.

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“It’s very lucky no one was hurt because the masonry fell near someone, and it could have been a horrible injury.

“And this building is in the heart of it, event if people aren’t using the library, it is one of the busiest accesses on Market Street.”

Scaffolding will be installed around the Library Street entrance, where the masonry fell.

This will mean that there is restricted access to the Library Street entrance whilst the scaffolding is installed, and wheelchair users will be restricted entirely at this entrance whilst work is ongoing.

Cllr Tighe said: “I would advise all pedestrians to walk on the opposite side of the road in case you get hit with masonry.

“The scaffolding will be put there for public safety.

“It’s about the town hall and the security of the building and giving something back to the community.”

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: "We are aware of the issue and essential repairs have already started to secure the safety of the building and the public.”

Residents also made local councillors aware of a hole in the roof, which is leaking into the building, and Cllr Tighe says it is an ongoing concern, which is “imminently” being repaired.

Temporary fencing was previously installed around the front and side of the building to protect the public during the incident in December.

In October Cllr Tighe says that masonry fell from the building after a vehicle crashed into it. 

It comes as the town hall is set to undergo a huge transformation, keeping it as a community hub, as well as preserving the historical features and maintaining the building built in 1903/04.

Cllr Tighe added: “We need to speed up the process for work to start because we have everything we need; we just need to get the work started.”

Council officials and ward councillors are expected to meet on March 15 if not sooner to discuss all of the plans and concerns surrounding the building.

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