STEPS were made this week to protect Chard Town Council’s Guildhall, which is at risk from damp and flooding.

The building is suffering from ‘rising and penetrating damp’ according the town council’s operations manager Ed Ringwood.

After conducting investigations into part of the building, which he said was “wet as a peach”, Mr Ringwood found a fungal-type growth within the walls.

Cllr Cathie Morrison, sitting on the Guildhall and Amenities Committee on Monday, said: “In 2001 when they were digging out the back we were told we have got green sand underneath the building.”

The green sand is retaining water, and so causing the damp issue.

Cllr Jenny Kenton, chair of the Guildhall and Amenities committee, said: “We all want the building to be in tip top condition.”

The committee heard that the Guildhall sinking fund, which is money set aside to help cope with the listed building’s issues, currently has £165,000.

Original estimations commissioned by the operations manager have costed the potential work to the back of the building, where the changing rooms are, at £14,500.

The committee’s second vote to safeguard the building was on whether to supply and install a supplementary pump system.

Operation manager Ed Ringwood, who brought a full report on the potential pump system to the council, suggested installing a dual pump system, in case one of the pumps fails.

In the incident of a pump failure, a light would then come on at the back of the building.

Mr Ringwood had proposed for the council to approve and recommend to Full Council expenditure of £1,800 to supply and install a supplementary Flood prevention pump system at the Guildhall.

Following discussion between the councillors on the Guildhall and Amenities committee, it was decided that Mr Ringwood needed to look into installing a failure light inside the building.

The additional expense of getting an emergency light installed in the team leader’s office meant the budget for the flood prevention pump has been increase to ‘up to £2,000’.