Work is continuing to complete repairs to Keswick’s Moot Hall, which is being sold by Allerdale council.

The council agreed in September 2015 to sell the iconic building, in Market Square, to the Battersby Hall Charity for £210,000.

It began carrying out repairs to the walls, roof and beams after agreeing the deal. But town, borough and county councillor Tony Lywood, a trustee of the charity appointed by the town council, said that new problems were being discovered as wood and brickwork was removed during the repairs. Listed building consent is currently awaited to replace rotten wooden beams with steel.

The town council voted to support that application.

Coun Lywood said no completion date had been set for the work but he believed the council was working as quickly as it could.

Following a structural report, points on the building used to attach advertising banners were removed last year to protect the structure.

The Battersby Hall Charity had been looking for a new building since selling the Battersby Hall in Church Street in 2012.

It first tabled its proposal to take on the Moot Hall in 2015.

The deal will save the council around £8,700 a year in running costs.

The Lake District National Park Authority’s lease on the building, which houses the town’s tourist information centre, is unaffected.

Coun Lywood previously said the charity was committed to maintaining a tourist information centre in the three-storey building.

The Grade II listed Moot Hall has a distinctive slate roof and walls made of local stone. Its clock tower dates back to 1813.

Meanwhile, Oliver Kendrick, of Church Street, is seeking planning permission to convert the Battersby Hall into five homes.

Town councillors were concerned the plan did not include affordable housing but agent Peter Winter explained that the cost of converting the old building meant the project would be unviable if the houses could not be sold at full value.

The council voted to support his application.