A road has been closed off as work starts on a £450,000 project to renovate a historic Wiltshire building.

St John’s Street in Devizes was fenced off on Monday, October 21, in order for works to the town hall to start.

The “deteriorating” building requires major work to tackle a leaking roof which has caused water damage to the inside of the building.

This project kicked off after planning permission for the work was granted by Wiltshire Council and is expected to take around 20 weeks to complete.

During this time scaffolding will be erected at the prominent site to facilitate the replacement of the roof and other associated works.

The closure of St John’s Street is scheduled to continue until January 21 to allow crews to carry out the scheme.

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Devizes Town HallDevizes Town Hall (Image: Newsquest) It stretches between the road’s two junctions with the A360 through the town.

Access will be maintained for residents and businesses at all times while the road closure is in place.

The building was described by town clerk Simon Fisher as one of the town’s “hidden gems” but is in need of significant repairs following a survey undertaken by Dolmans.

When the project was announced, Mr Fisher said: “Whilst the town council is fortunate to own and manage many fine buildings in Devizes, we recognise that we are only the custodians for future generations.

“It’s important that we do everything we can to protect the long-term viability of these buildings and therefore maintenance is an essential part of that responsibility.

“Those who have visited the town hall over the last few years may have noticed the level of water ingress during bad weather that has been a problem for us and whilst we have undertaken remedial work to try and stop the water coming in, it has been a losing battle. 

“Therefore, the only way to deal with the problem properly is to carry out more substantial work which over the last few years we have started to budget to pay for.”

The town council announced it would pay for the works by borrowing the funds and spreading the cost over the next 10 years.

The annual loan repayment will be equal to £7.40 per band D property but the council has already built a reserve to almost halve the impact on the precept and is exploring further budget cuts to alleviate the pressure on residents.