A DAMAGED ceiling at Tavistock Town Hall must be repaired with traditional lath and plaster and not modern materials, say West Devon?s planners ? despite the fact that no-one would be able to tell the difference. And the extra cost for the traditional work is estimated at £25,000, a bill that would have to be borne by town ratepayers. Tavistock Town Council sought listed building consent to use plasterboard with a gypsum skim when it repaired the damaged ceiling sections. They are currently covered in bright green netting to stop them falling on people in the hall. But English Heritage objected to the application, due to the building?s special architectural interest. And West Devon?s conservation officer said there was ?no overriding issue of safety, cost or lack of skills? to favour replacing lath and plaster with a modern ceiling. Tavistock ward member Cllr Dick Eberlie said the hall was a valuable building that needed to be looked after. The town town council had come up with the proposal after a great deal of discussion. Cllr Eberlie said the problems with the town hall ceiling were a result of previous defective repair work, which had been carried out using traditional materials. He said: ?The past is sometimes the enemy of age. ?I would ask the committee to bear in mind the costs will fall upon the long-suffering precept-payers of Tavistock.? Cllr Dilwyn Hughes said given the fact that visually, no-one would be able to tell the difference between a traditional and modern ceiling, he could see no reason to refuse the application. And Cllr Eaon Wager said he thought it would be difficult for the council to find a craftsman able to carry out the job in the traditional fashion. But Cllr Ken Williams said if the committee went against the officers? recommendation to refuse planning consent, it could create a difficult precedent when dealing with future applications for listed buildings. Cllr James McInnes said the application was ?finely balanced?, but he did not think it was right to let a town council ?get away with something? that the committee would not allow an ordinary householder to do. Cllr Roger Mathew, chairman of the committee, said the character and appearance of the listed building was the key issue. ?I wouldn?t disagree that the appearance would be very difficult to detect. The problem is whether the listed building is intact. It?s a very fine grade II listed building, so the integrity of its structure is important.? He added that if the town council did find it impossible to find a craftsman to carry out a traditional repair, they could re-apply for planning consent using modern materials. Tavistock town clerk Roger Howard said it would cost approximately £25,000 more to repair the ceiling with lath and plaster. ?We?ve had an estimate from a surveyor and they think it will be in the region of £80,000, but that?s only working on their prior experience, so we haven?t actually been on to any firms to ask for quotes.? Col Howard said the next step would be to ask the surveyors to go out to tender for the job. ?The thing is, there aren?t that many firms who could do a job of that size, in that way. It?s a Victorian way of building that?s no longer used,? he said.