BUILDERS have been getting a bird's eye view of Marlborough from parts of the town hall that normally only pigeons can reach.

The bad news for the pigeons is that the £200,000 refurbishment of the hall that celebrated its centenary last year will be a no-go area for them in future.

The work has included the installation of extra anti-pigeon barriers including sharp spikes fitted to the area where they have traditionally roosted.

The town hall has been draped in scaffolding and Kingsbury Street has been temporarily made one way for the eight-week restoration project.

The scaffolding reaches to the top of the cupola that adorns the roof giving the builders a perch almost 100 feet up.

Intrepid Gazette cameraman Paul Morris seized the opportunity to climb to the very top to get some unique lofty views of the town centre.

After returning to terra firma the photographer said: "It was a lot further up that I realised and I admire the builders for their pluck in being able to work up so high."

But it's all in a days work for the craftsmen employed by main contractor Carty of Marlborough to carry out the first refurbishment of the outside of the building within living memory.

Local architect Malcolm Ward has been in charge of the restoration work and said no real horrors had been found apart from some wet rot in the attic eaves where rainwater had been penetrating.

The decorative band of stonework around the hall has been restored and one of the final jobs will be the installation of a new flagpole on the balcony at the front of the building.

That will save town hall caretaker, Alan Brown, from the risky job of clambering up over the assembly room ceiling to reach the original flagpole on top of the roof. The old flagpole will remain in place.

The restoration work will be completed and the scaffolding removed by the end of May, well in time for Prince Charles' visit to Marlborough for the anniversary celebrations.

Prince Charles will be visiting the town hall on June 18 to unveil a plaque recording the town's celebrations of its 800th anniversary of receiving its charters from King John.

Coun David Parker, the town council's finance chairman, told the annual parish meeting last week that when the exterior restoration is completed Marlborough will once again have a town hall to be proud of.

The interior of the building has been restored in stages over recent years, with a major refurbishment of the upstairs assembly room led by former mayor Derek Smithers in the mid 1990s.

The exterior restoration has included the strengthening of the stone balcony at the front of the building.

Coun Graham Francis, mayor elect and chairman of the 2004 celebrations committee, said Prince Charles would be invited to venture out on the now-restored balcony as his grandparents did almost 60 years ago.