A leaking roof at Royal Berkshire Hospital needs urgent repair works, with plans submitted to the council to approve the repairs at the Grade II* listed building.
Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has submitted proposals to repair the roof of its union offices, a rear annex of the North Block building, part of the Royal Berkshire Hospital site.
Previous plans to repair a leaky roof at the Old Library on the same block were approved in March.
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The current state of the roof is “in urgent need of repair as it has begun to leak due to natural weathering and may damage the historic fabric”, the hospital said in its application.
A spokesman for the trust said: “The roof in question is reaching its end-of-economical lifecycle and as part of our rolling programme of critical infrastructure replacement/repairs across the hospital site, we are planning to re-roof this section.
“We completed similar works on North Block last year. Works will not commence without statutory approval.”
The zone that is being repaired is used for admin and plant space.
Where the building is located
The trust said it was unsure if it needed to make the application but, due to the urgency, especially on current import times on Welsh slate due to the current pandemic, it felt an application should be made.
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The repair work will follow a complete like-for-like basis for all materials and accessories to maintain the character of the building and avoid any changes or alterations in the buildings current nature.
The interior will be surveyed once the leaks are repaired to check for any internal damage and repairs will be undertaken if required.
Works will be completed by a competent roofing contractor with previous experience and overseen by a firm of architects that work with listed buildings on a regular basis.
Access to the roof will be via scaffolding that will be erected around the building and it will be a self-supported structure, not tied to the building in any lasting way and removed when the roof repairs are completed.
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