A FOUR-YEAR project to repair Bradford’s landmark City Hall has finally come to an end.

The Grade I listed building is now scaffolding-free for the first time since April 2013, after undergoing a painstaking £4m restoration programme.

It’s a particularly proud moment for 18-year-old apprentice bricklayer Billy Aykroyd, of Wibsey. For a few months he was seconded from Bradford Council to the stonemasonry contractors carrying out the work, in order to gain some once-in-a-lifetime experience.

He said: “It has been a great opportunity for me, from start to finish, from the moment I found out I would be working on such a historic building in Bradford.

“I think honoured is the word. I was honoured to do that.”

Mr Aykroyd spent time learning how to replace pieces of weathered stone as well as carrying out repointing work, and said his favourite part was working from the top of the clock tower and taking in the views of the city.

Much of the work has focused on repairing the roof and the stonework, including the intricate stone carvings adorning the building’s facade.

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There had been fears that stone could have fallen off the building - one of the statues had been so insecure it wobbled - while the roof was in bad repair and a tree was found growing out of the clock tower.

But the restoration has also seen the copper sea serpent weathervane renewed, an angel’s missing trumpet replaced and the windows repainted burgundy, after restorers removed layer after layer of paint to find what the original colour had been.

Project manager Steve Aldeguer and senior building surveyor Julian Chancellor praised the main contractors Heritage Building and Conservation, who stepped in when a previous contractor went into administration.

The amount spent on the restoration has proved controversial in some quarters at a time when Bradford Council is facing major cut-backs.

But Ben Middleton, Bradford Council’s assistant director for estates and property, said the cost could escalate if repairs were not made.

He said: “The £4 million work on the Grade I Listed City Hall was carried out to restore a significant part of the city’s heritage. The building is one of the most impressive civic structures in the country and one that residents can be proud of.

“Every occupant of a listed building is responsible for its maintenance and if repairs and restoration work is not done then over time the cost escalates.”

Re-wiring and re-plastering work is now being done to the inside of the building.

Mr Middleton said this was partly for maintenance reasons and partly to make way for the Rugby League Museum, which will open in City Hall by 2020.