The long awaited project to clean up Wootton Bassett's historic town hall started on Tuesday.

The 300 year-old half-timbered stilted building in the High Street has been a focal point for the town for many years.

But recently the old building has fallen into disrepair.

It has also been the subject of a lot of political wrangling, and last year responsibility for its upkeep passed to a group of town councillors.

The repairs will cost almost £30,000 and are expected to take between eight and ten weeks to complete.

The renovations will include repairs to the roof and windows,

The timbers will be bleached with a lime solution, which will make them look grey for a week or so.

When the timbers are dry they will be stained black to restore the black and white timbered appearance of the building.

Town clerk Jonathon Bourne said: "This is a fairly comprehensive restoration and we hope the building will not need anything else doing for a few years afterwards.

"There has been a five year plan for repairs to the building and £20,000 was set aside out of council budgets for that.

"However now we have got the scaffolding up it seems sensible and more economical to do all the work at once rather than pay builders and scaffolders again next year and the year after."

The town hall was the centre of a political storm last year after claims that it was on the verge of collapse and had been neglected by the town council.

The claims were angrily rebutted by councillors who pointed out that they had formed the Town Hall Trust specifically to look after the interests of the historic building, which was built in the early 17th century by the Earls of Clarendon.

Originally the upper floor housed the council chambers, while the underneath had a storeroom and a blind house, where drunks were locked up for the night.

The lower storey disappeared in 1889 when the building was modified and the distinctive stone pillars supporting the upper storey were added.

These days the building houses Wootton Bassett museum, which displays the town stocks and other historical oddities.

Since the Town Hall Trust took over the management of the building, the museum has been opened on Saturdays when town council members volunteer their time.

Mr Bourne said: "The town hall is a very distinctive building and is important to the identity of the town and to the trade from tourists.

"The town council and the trust has pledged to do whatever is needed to maintain it in good condition."

At the moment it is thought that the High Street will not have to be closed while building work takes place.

This will be clarified at a meeting between the surveyors and the trust later this week.

Work will continue throughout the week, but not weekends, until the end of July.

Although the High Street was closed briefly on Sunday morning, it is not thought that the road will have to be closed again while the work is carried out.

Any queries about the restoration work can be addressed to Mr Jonathon Bourne at the Cascade offices, 117 High Street, Wootton Bassett.