Natural Slates to be replaced after 120 years

An order for roof slates from a specialist Northamptonshire quarry has been put in by North Northants Council (NNC) to repair Kettering’s much-loved 120-year-old library and art gallery complex.

Essential work to replace crumbled Collyweston slates has moved one step closer that will eventually enable the £4.5m the Cornerstone community complex to fully open.

Plans to fund repairs to the leaking 120-year-old roof were approved in December by North Northants councillors, with the project taking place in several phases.

The project – with an eye-watering budget of £6.8m – in the ‘delivery’ phase has seen the removal of vegetation causing damage to the building, and ‘extensive’ building and ecology surveys.

Following the surveys and the finalisation of the designs a planning application and listed building consent has been submitted to be considered by NNC’s planning team prior to coming before a committee.

A spokesman for NNC said: “The original roof of the library building is tiled with Collyweston slate and, following discussions with conservation experts and advice from Historic England, it has been agreed that, given the building is Grade 2 listed, the roof will be replaced with Collyweston slates.

“Due to the number of slates required for the project, there is only one suitable source of new Collyweston slate within the timeframe required.

«With this in mind, officers have now placed an order for the slates with the supplier, meaning they should be available when needed.

«Where possible, suitable existing slates will be reused on the library roof or elsewhere.”

A temporary ‘roof’ will be placed over the library to allow works to be undertaken and prevent further damage to the Grade II-listed building with scaffolding due to be erected once planning permission is granted and contractors are appointed.

While the works are undertaken, the library has been temporarily relocated into the upper floor of the modern extension of Cornerstone.

Once the application has gone through the planning process, physical work will be able to begin on site – once a contractor has been appointed – and a final timeline for the project will be published.

The planning application for the roof works is due to be heard at an upcoming meeting of NNC’s Planning Committee (North).

Source: Telegraph Northamptonshire

Autor: Alison Bagley

Photography: Kettering Library/National World