Okehampton Town Councillors are discussing ways of funding the replacement of the upper windows in the town hall which are disintegrating and urgently in need of repair.

The discussion at last week’s council meeting (January 9) following concerns over the state of the windows and reports that the caretaker had picked up clumps of wood that had broken away from the window frames.

Councillor Jan Goffey, said: ‘This has been concerning me for several years now.

‘When this building was last painted the decorator didn’t point out how precarious they are. This is a Georgian building and a Grade 2 listed building so the windows will need to be wood and the windows being historic will not be a standard size like modern windows.’

The cost of solid wooden window frames and the uneven window sizes will add to the cost of the replacements and the council is now looking into potential grants, funding applications and other ways of ensuring it can cover the costs of good-quality replacements.

Since the windows are deteriorating quickly and need replacing as soon as possible, Cllr Tony Leech suggested that one way of resolving the issue of funding was to renew the windows one at a time rather than all in one go.

He said: ‘What I suggest here is that we focus the work so we do a window at a time as we get money into the coffers.’

The council agreed that it would begin planning for the window replacement which would include research into potential contractors to carry out the work and a discussion with the West Devon Borough Council’s conservation officer to ensure that the right materials are used in order to obtain planning permission.

It was also noted during the same meeting that there was evidence of a leak inside town hall’s right-hand chimney but councillors agreed to monitor the situation for the time-being as it was possible that, since the chimney was not capped, the leak may be due to wind pressure and the current wet weather.

The council has also launched its ‘Sponsor a Slate’ campaign to raise funds to repair the roof of the Charter Hall and improve the ventilation system.

The campaign opened in October last year following unexpected rises in the cost of the repairwork which the council has estimated to have doubled since the work was initially set to start before the outbreak of the covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

The council is now aiming to double the £250,000 originally set aside for the work through the fundraising campaign.

Anyone who wishes to donate should email their details to the town clerk along with permission for their name to be published as a contributor and town benefactor.

The council will accept cash, cheques, and BACS payments which will be added to the earmarked fund for the work. BACs payments can be made to Okehampton Town Council with the sort code 30-98-90 and account number 18063468.

The reference should be: your name/Roof Fund.