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Kent County Council continue to undertake roof repairs on Gravesend Old Town Hall

15:14, 27 December 2023

More scaffolding has been erected as works continue to repair a historic venue.

Kent County Council (KCC) has been undertaking repairs to the roof of the Old Town Hall in Gravesend town centre for the past two months.

More scaffolding has been erected around the building
More scaffolding has been erected around the building

However, last week, more scaffolding was erected around the entrance to the Grade II* listed building's front in the High Street and a red covering was put up.

A spokesman for KCC said its appointed contractor recently inspected the property “in respect of reinstatement, repair, and replacement of various elements of the roof”.

It is not yet known how much the works will cost the local authority, which owns the building in the town’s historic heritage quarter, or when they will be complete.

There is still access to Gravesend Borough Market while construction takes place.

Works started to repair the roof in November
Works started to repair the roof in November

Earlier this year, the owner of popular tapas bar Rico Sabor, which was in the Old Town Hall, blamed the closure of his business on the council, accusing it of “neglect”.

The landlords re-entered the restaurant in April sparking its founder, Julian Ramirez, to release a statement saying they had “failed to upkeep the maintenance of the building”.

But KCC fought back and said the allegations were false and legal action was being taken.

The historic building was used as a police station in 1870. Picture: Reproduced with the kind permission of Gravesend Library
The historic building was used as a police station in 1870. Picture: Reproduced with the kind permission of Gravesend Library

The Old Town Hall was first built in 1573 but has been remodelled several times throughout its history to create more space.

It was previously used as a court, a police station, and, more recently, a venue space.

It also has historic cells which were used to hold prisoners.

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