A TORY councillor has expressed her disappointment at the "slow progress" of the refurbishment of a public hall.
Kirklees councillor Margaret Bates said more should be done to speed up the work to renovate Gomersal Public Hall.
She said: "I am very disappointed at the lack of progress being made.
"I appreciate the hall is a listed building and refurbishment has to be done sensitively, but it is taking far too long and the Liberal Democrats have broken promises."
Clr Bates claimed Liberal democrat deputy leader Clr John Smithson had been "flippant" in his reply when question- ed about progress at the hall.
Work on the listed Hall has included refurbishment and alterations to provide access for disabled people.
Permission had to be sought from the Environment Secretary because the building is listed.
In a statement, Clr Smithson said Gomersal Public Hall was an important listed building which was well-used by the public and had been sadly neglected by previous administrations.
The council was carrying out repairs and improvements to protect the fabric of the hall and to en- hance its public use.
He said: "Given that it is a listed building, great care needs to be taken in designing the works to be done.
"It also means that costs are pro rata significantly higher than for non-listed buildings due to the materials that have to be used and the restrictions on the ways in which the work can be carried out."
The timescale was therefore extended.
