MORE than £1 million worth of work to repair the roof on Stalybridge’s Civic Hall has been delayed.
And the town’s police post is set to move from its current location to the landmark.
Work was originally scheduled to begin on the structure just after the turn of the year.
But Tameside Council, which was left stunned by the revelation the cost to sort out the roof ballooned by £1.1m, has admitted to The Correspondent it is on hold.
The money to pay for a full replacement rather than a repair, rather than a ‘patch up and mend’ job, has been found.
However, when asked why work had not yet begun, the local authority revealed extra activity in the town this year could see a lengthy delay.
A Tameside Council spokesperson said: “We are reviewing the programme of works required at Stalybridge Civic Hall to minimise disruption to users of the building.
“This is particularly relevant now given that Stalybridge was recently named Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2022 and there will be increased activity and opportunities in and around the vicinity of the civic hall this year as a result of this.”
Stalybridge’s Civic Hall will also become the site of the town’s police post later this year after Greater Manchester Police made the revelation after being contacted by The Correspondent.
Currently it is housed on Waterloo Road but the summer will see a shift to nearby Trinity Street.
A spokesman for the force said: “The station will be closing at the end of May and officers will be moving to the nearby Stalybridge Civic Centre.”
And a Tameside Council spokesman said: “The police are currently in private rented space but we understand they have been told to look for somewhere else from May.
“We understand the importance of the police maintaining a town centre presence for community reassurance and are working closely with GMP to find a suitable alternative location for the police post.”