CITY councillors have made calls for the exterior of Ripon Town Hall to be refurbished as it is “in poor and increasingly deteriorating condition”.

The Grade-II listed building is owned by Harrogate Borough Council and leased to Ripon City Council. It has a proud history which dates back 222 years but local leaders have warned it is now in need of a makeover and “urgent” repairs.

Councillor Andrew Williams, leader of the city council, told a meeting on Monday that the outside of the town hall was suffering from peeling paint, mould and windows boarded up with cardboard.

“It doesn’t exactly look befitting of a listed building which is supposed to be the feature of the Market Square,” he said.

“I know times are hard and all the rest of it, but if we are going to attract visitors to Ripon then our key buildings need to be in tip-top condition. The town hall’s exterior is quite frankly anything but that at the moment.”

Ripon Town Hall was built in 1799 as an assembly room by renowned architect James Wyatt.

It sits on the south side of the Market Square which is home to the city’s ancient hornblower tradition. The hornblower has set the watch in the city every night since 886, by blowing a horn at the four corners of the obelisk at 9pm.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said it had plans to carry out repairs inside the town hall, although they did not say when or mention the exterior.

“As landlord for Ripon Town Hall we have a plan in place to carry out internal refurbishment of the basement, ground and first floors. Although at this stage, no timeframe has been decided,” the spokesperson said.

At the meeting on Monday, councillor Pauline McHardy also raised concerns over empty office spaces at the town hall which she said should be let out to businesses and community groups.

“They have been empty for some considerable time, for years in fact,” she said.

“I don’t know why they haven’t been let out if Harrogate Borough Council are supposed to be so short of money.

“When I raised it they told me these spare offices were being refurbished to let. To date, they have not been. If Harrogate Borough Council were so desperate for money they would have been leasing these office spaces off.”