TAVISTOCK Town Council may be forced to abandon ship following the collapse of a ceiling in the Drake Road council offices last week.
The cave-in is the latest of a number of problems currently plaguing the Victorian building and has prompted town clerk Roger Howard to call in a team of surveyors for a complete structural survey.
He warned the repairs may reach six figures and could result in councillors 'cutting their losses' rather than trying to keep the building.
Council workmen discovered the damage on a stair landing in the centre of the building when they opened up the offices last Saturday week. Debris had fallen into the stairwell and main entrance hall.
The council offices, which also house the Museum and Registration Office, were closed to the public on Friday afternoon.
Scaffolding was erected the following day and a further piece of the ceiling was removed.
'Work was stopped and the scaffolding masked because there was a wedding on Saturday,' said Mr Howard. 'But the building is totally safe. We will replaster the damaged part of the ceiling over a weekend.'
Mr Howard said he thought the collapse was caused by the leaking roof.
'Water pours in, particularly when the wind is in a certain direction,' he said. 'I think is comes in through the cupola.'
The council offices were refurbished about ten years ago at a cost of nearly a quarter of a million pounds.
'I gather the roof was removed twice then to try to stop it leaking,' said Mr Howard.
The town council has received planning permission to upgrade the building to modern standards to meet health and safety regulations. These improvements include a fire escape and disabled access.
'I am particularly worried about the rest of the building which is in urgent need of fairly major repair,' said the town clerk.
'Surveyors were here the other day and noted subsidence in one wall. There are cracks in the wall and goodness knows what is happening underneath the building.
'Cost must be considered and it might be more realistic to look at alternative venues but many councillors enjoy this traditional old building and would be reluctant to see it go.'
Cllr Harry Pearson has called for a full report to be given at the next town council meeting.
He said he was concerned that the building had been left open to the public for four days before a building inspector closed it.
'To leave a ceiling which is suspect for four days is diabolical,' said Mr Pearson. 'People going into the Registration Office were at risk — questions must be asked.'
Cllr Pearson also wants to know why the town council is paying overtime for the work to be carried out over two weekends.
'It would have saved the council money by not having to pay overtime for weekend working had the unsafe ceiling been removed on the Monday after the collapse,' he said.
'The offices could have been closed on a specific date, agreed by the Registrar, to replace the ceiling during normal working hours.'
l Tavistock Town Council applied to West Devon Borough Council last week for planning permission to form an internal fire escape corridor with new doorway and new external fire escape stairs at the council offices.