A FURTHER attempt to gain permission to repair Tavistock Town Hall?s crumbling ceiling using modern materials is to be launched by the town council. A previous application to use up-to-date techniques in place of traditional Victorian construction was rejected by West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee earlier this year. The committee said modern materials would be detrimental to the Listed Victorian building ? even though the ceiling is more than 35ft high and would be no different in appearance from traditional lath and plaster. The traditional method will also carry a heavy price tag ? at the very least £25,000 more. Now experts working on behalf of the council have submitted two Listed Building consent applications. One is to underpin the existing lath and plaster with modern materials ? a much cheaper method and indistinguishable from the floor. The second is to replace the wooden laths with steel, then add plaster. This would be slightly more expensive but still far more cost-effective than using wooden lathes ? and still would be indistinguishable. The town council?s properties committee last week heard that its expert had emphasised to the borough council that the ceiling being replaced was actually only ten years old ? and that no part of the original 1892 ceiling remains. He also recommended councillors lobby members of the planning committee, particularly since such large sums of public money were involved. Cllr Ted Sherrell said: ?Certainly we have to pursue a cheaper option if we can ? I would most certainly lobby members.? Cllr Brian Trew said the planning committee?s attitude regarding the ceiling was ?totally perverse?, considering the ceiling could not be properly seen or touched. Cllr Jenny Metcalf, town mayor, said: ?As far as I am concerned, anything that will save this sort of money is something we ought to pursue, and if our advisers believe it?s worthwhile doing this, we ought to back them.? The original estimate to carry out the work was £80,000 ? but this will have increased with the passage of time. The council is hoping to start work on the ceiling after Christmas, allowing pictures and chandeliers to be taken down prior to the festive break. The town hall ceiling has been covered in green plastic netting for more than three years, to stop bits of ceiling panelling fall down on anyone below.
