Big-hearted volunteers in Nantwich have been praised for saving the taxpayer £10,000 on revamping the town’s Civic Hall.
Staff at the centre have clubbed together to carry out a range of repairs and decorations at the venue on Market Street.
Town clerk Ian Hope told councillors that they used the partial closure of the hall, due to refurbishment of the toilet block, to carry out other work.
He said employees had clubbed together to paint walls and repair paintwork throughout the hall.
New lighting and skirting has been installed, with extensive re-wiring work. New flooring and carpet tiles have also been installed.
And other work is taking place in the bar and kitchen area.
Mr Hope said the work carried out by staff on a voluntary basis had saved the council up to £10,000 if had been contracted out to external companies.
“Staff have taken time off to do a lot of the refurbishment work, and the hall is looking a lot better than it was,” he added.
“Going out to external contract, this work would have cost thousands, so I am very grateful to everyone who have helped out.”
Cllr David Marren added: “We are a very self sufficient council. It costs a lot of money to put tenders out.
“Using our own employees also makes sure people are motivated by doing a good job for the right reasons. It’s tremendously beneficial.”
RCL Construction are carrying out works on the Civic Centre’s toilets.
A short delay in completing the work has been caused by the presence os asbestos.
They are now expected to be completed on March 13, in time for the Nantwich Jazz and Blues festival at Easter weekend.
Hmmm – I suppose this helps slightly to offset the ludicrous amount spent on refurbishing what were (I thought) perfectly adequate toilets.