Repair costs for listed building top £1.7m

The estimated cost to repair "one of the most important buildings in Surrey" has reached more than £1.7m after a number of additional issues were discovered.

Wilmer House, the Grade I Listed building which is home to Farnham Museum, was due to receive essential repairs funded by a £734,000 grant from the Arts Council.

But more problems, including decaying brickwork and collapsing window arches were found, increasing the costs to £1.72m.

Waverley Borough Council will have to foot £735,000 of the bill, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A third of that amount was agreed for the project in a council meeting on Tuesday.

Another 230,000 will be provided by National Lottery funding and about £20,000 of "other external funding", the council said.

Councillor Kika Mirylees, portfolio holder for community services and leisure said: "As we know, the challenges that come with a Grade I listed building are not easy.

"The first phase was always going to be one of uncertainty.

"Like it or not Waverley has a statutory obligation to carry out the repair work in a timely manner due to planning law and health and safety concerns – and the funding given to us by the Arts Council."

It is expected that the work will take about 18 weeks to complete and will be finished by mid-October, the meeting heard, but further delays would push the project into 2026 and add £69,000 to the costs.

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