Rebuilding a stone wall at Holy Trinity Church in Trowbridge has led to a row over costs associated with the project.
Trowbridge Town Council has resolved a ‘query’ over a four-figure bill from Wiltshire Council for loss of parking bays and other costs.
The town council was handed the bill after completing a project to restore and rebuild a crumbling stone wall around the Grade II* listed church, known as the Church on the Roundabout.
Managers incurred an overspend after budgeting £80,000 for the project but the final bill came in at £84,822 after Wiltshire Council’s conservation officer asked for additional requirements.
The town council was handed a £4,000 bill from Wiltshire Council for the loss of parking spaces and other costs while the work was taking place.
Trowbridge mayor Cllr Stephen Cooper queried the overspend on the Holy Trinity Church wall at a town council risk and audit sub-committee meeting.
He was told the extra cost was the additional fees from Wiltshire Council for having to close parking bays, skip hire and highway closures.
Lance Allan, the town council’s chief executive, said: “The budget included an allocation of £80,000 in capital.
“Our internal auditor advised that we could not class it as capital expenditure. This is likely to be where the idea of a large overspend has come from.
“The final net cost was £84,822. The majority of the overspend was due to additional requirements of the planning authority’s conservation officer.
“As far as the matter of the fees from Wiltshire Council are concerned, which amounted to around £4,000; Trowbridge Town Council is happy that this matter has been resolved satisfactorily with Wiltshire Council.
“The town council is very pleased with the work as completed, in accordance with its legal responsibilities and considers the completed wall to be a fine entrance to the town at the end of Bradford Road.”
A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: "This was all resolved last week."
It is a legal responsibility of any town or parish council to take on the maintenance and upkeep of a closed churchyard, including boundaries, unless it is transferred to the higher authority.
Trowbridge Town Council, through agreements with Wiltshire Council, has taken on the maintenance and upkeep of the town’s three closed churchyards at Holy Trinity, St James and St John at Upper Studley.
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