IT’S one of the most famous landmarks in Bradford’s skyline, and it’s getting a major spruce-up.

The clock tower at City Hall is being painstakingly restored in the final phase of a major £4.1 million repairs programme to the Grade I listed building.

Bob Evans, senior projects manager for building and surveying at Bradford Council, said getting the scaffolding in place around the tower had been a major task in itself.

Now work was well under way, he said, with the scaffolding due to start coming down later this year.

He said: “I think the public will see a huge change in it when it comes down.

“It is getting fully repointed, there are stone works being replaced and there are repairs to the weather vane that has been up here.

“A lot of people used to think it was a dolphin. It’s actually a dragon, so that will be news to some people.”

Mr Evans said the works to the clock tower had begun after they went up in a basket attached to a crane to see what the state of the tower was like.

He said: “We could see there were an awful lot of roof stones and small bits that were coming off, and we could also see there was a tree growing out of the top, so from that point we decided we would have to scaffold it and have a good look at it.”

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, executive member for regeneration and Bradford Council’s heritage champion, said: “The work started in May 2013 and is due to be completed in April 2017 depending on the weather.

“We are hoping to be able to start taking the scaffolding down from around the clock tower in phases in September, leaving the scaffolding at roof level so that roof works can be completed either side of the clock tower.

“The extensive conservation, preservation and renovation work to this impressive building is expected to come to £4.1 million.

“City Hall is a Grade I listed building and is an essential part of Bradford’s heritage so we need to make sure that we do the right thing to preserve the building so that it remains in good condition for future generations.”

The work has also given the contractors views that may not have been seen since repair works were carried out in the 1980s.

They have also discovered masons’ marks and leadsmiths’ marks left in hidden spots by previous workmen in years gone by.

While members of the public may not be able to climb the scaffolding to enjoy the views, they are now able to get up-close to some of the statues high up on City Hall.

In the niches between the windows of City Hall there are statues of 35 sovereigns starting from William I. They were carved by Farmer and Brindley, of London, each from a single stone from the Cliffe Wood quarries. Each one is a reproduction of the monarch both in physique and costume.

Yesterday, Bradford Council began its latest programme of Sneaky Peeks tours of City Hall, which will run throughout the summer.

This year, as part of the tour, Bradford Council has teamed up with Bradford College to create models of the statues using 3D printing.

Zaid Bashir of Bradford College said: “This a great use of the 3D scanning and printing technologies we possess at Bradford College.

“It’s a two-staged process, it takes about an hour to scan each statue on site and the post-processing and printing of a model can take up to 11 hours.

“The end results are worth the effort though. People will have the chance to see, touch and feel detailed models of statues that they might otherwise have taken little notice of.”

The free, self-guided Sneaky Peek tours will run every Wednesday from 2pm to 4pm and every Thursday from 1pm to 3pm until September 8.

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