North Tawton Town Council has announced that there is a legal obligation to repair the clock tower in the Square contrary to what was originally stated in a recent council meeting.

The clock tower’s roof skirt collapsed last year due to severe wood rot and councillors discussed whether or not to fund repairwork on the tower at a recent meeting. One of the possible solutions was to leave the clock tower without the canopy after the clerk’s research suggested that the council were under no obligation to keep the tower in good repair despite it being a listed building.

However, further research proved that this was not the case as West Devon Borough Council’s listed building control informed the council that if not repaired borough council officers would be obliged to hand out a listed building enforcement notice.

Borough council officers also informed the clerk that the council was unlikely to be granted listed building planning permission for the permanent removal of the roof skirt as it is considered a key element in the design.

The announcement comes after the agenda for the annual town meeting, which will take place tonight (March 16) was issued at which a discussion over whether or not the roof skirt should be replaced was due to take place. This was the outcome of a previous decision by the council to hold a meeting to debate whether or not to replace the canopy following a surveyor’s report to ensure that no further work was needed on the structure.

Instead, councillors and members of the public will debate how the repair costs should be funded as part of tonight’s meeting, which will take place at 7pm in North Tawton’s town hall.