ASBESTOS surveys will be carried out at two listed sites in Warrington.

Warrington Borough Council’s application for listed building consent for the installation of a new fire detection system in the Grade II listed Walton Hall was approved by the development management committee at the Town Hall on Wednesday.

It was also granted permission to complete an asbestos survey linked to the proposed upgrade of the existing wireless fire alarm system.

Furthermore, the authority’s plans for an asbestos survey at the 269-year-old Town Hall as part of plans to ‘sustain’ the borough’s heritage were approved, along with proposals to install a new fire detection system and new fire doors in the Grade I listed building.

The survey is also linked to an upgrade of the existing wireless fire alarm system to a partially wired system in the east and west annexes.

It will locate and record the location, type, condition and extent of asbestos-containing materials in the historic building.

The survey will be completed by a specialist company, who have previously carried out asbestos sampling on behalf of the council.

The authority says sampling will be limited to the areas that are ‘likely to be disturbed’ by the installation of the fire alarm system.

It could result in a ‘modest intrusion into the historic fabric’ but the firm will be told about the need for ‘sensitive’ work.

The council says any damage ‘will be made good’ using ‘traditional’ material and methods – which will have to pass the planning process.

Bank Hall, which was designed by architect James Gibbs, was built in 1750 as a home for businessman Thomas Patten.

But in 1873 the owner, Colonel Wilson Patten, later Lord Winmarleigh, sold the building to the council and it became Warrington Town Hall.