A DESPERATE plea for urgent work to be carried out on the crumbling Mechanics Institute to protect it from further decay this winter was turned down last night.

Swindon Council leader Sue Bates and her cabinet refused to fund work on the grade II listed building until a 'risk assessment' has been carried out.

She claimed that even if the owner of the building, Mountmead, was billed for the work, the council may well end up footing the £250,000 bill.

She refused appeals from central ward councillor, David Nash, and Martha Parry, from the New Mechanics Institution Preservation Trust, to start the work before winter.

Instead she asked director of environmental services, Simon Birch, to bring another report back to the cabinet within six weeks stating what the financial risk is for the council in undertaking the works.

Coun Bates (Lab, Gorse Hill and Pinehurst) said: "The danger is that we could spend many years trying to recover that money and we need a risk assessment to tell us how likely that is. This is not shutting the door, it's being honest."

In the meantime, a task force is being set up to discuss the long-term prospects for the 148-year-old building, which will be chaired by English Heritage chairman, Sir Neil Cossons, who once worked for the council.

Coun Nash (Lab) and Ms Parry both pointed out to last night's meeting that the work was described as urgent by consultants, Fielden Clegg Bradley, in its report five months ago.

After the meeting Ms Parry said: "We are really disappointed but we need to be positive. At least something is being done with the task force being set up.

"But I am very concerned that the building should not be left unprotected for another winter. We will write to the Government but we still cannot be sure that it will be protected.

"We've waited five months to discuss this at cabinet and the level of misinformation was stunning even the information we had given them was not presented. There should have been more in the report to convince them to do urgent work."

The Emlyn Square building has been empty since 1986. With each winter it spends in its current state, the costs of refurbishment spiral.

Coun Nash last night explained the need for the work to be done now: "If we establish a task force without doing this work first, we could find ourselves talking about the long-term future while the building falls down around our feet.

"We have a duty as an authority to ensure that any grade II listed building in our borough is not deteriorating."

He and Ms Parry pointed out that in cases where the owner of a listed building refuses to pay for urgent work, English Heritage can underwrite 80 per cent of the costs.

But Mr Birch insisted he has not yet received any such confirmation from English Heritage.