TREASURED old buildings could be closed down because authorities cannot meet the costs of repairing and maintaining them in the traditional way, a Tavistock councillor has warned.
As Tavistock Town Council faces the prospect of finding £90,000 to replace the town hall ceiling using traditional materials (lath and plaster), members are pleading with the conservation officer to 'have some understanding'.
Using modern materials the repair bill could be cut by £30,000 but this is not expected to be favoured by West Devon Borough Council's planning authority when permission is requested to carry out the work.
However in a report by Tavistock councillor David Best he said spending an additional £30,000 on something that would be indistinguishable to the man in the street from what was being proposed by the town council would have a detrimental knock-on effect on the town's many other listed building and maintenance projects.
The ceiling has been covered with plastic sheeting and safety netting to protect the public after two sections of it fell down.
Mr Best said nothing could be as bad as what was in place at the moment and the town council was keen for the replacement of the existing ceiling as soon as funds permitted.
'To find the £60,000 is going to be difficult enough but if we have to fall in line with the conservation officer's requirements and find £90,000 then the work will have to be delayed even further,' he said.
Speaking at last week's properties committee Cllr Ted Sherrell said it was hard for an authority like Tavistock Town Council which had so many old buildings: 'The time has come for a little bit of understanding, help and pragmatism from conservation and planning officers and bodies like English Heritage.
'We have to do things in the best way we can, as close to the original but in a cheaper way, or we do not do them at all,' he said.
'The day is not far away when we are going to have to say we cannot afford to keep these places open. We will have to put a padlock on them and close them down.'
Members of the committee agreed for Mr Best to meet with the borough council's conservation officer and argue the case for modern materials to be used.