THE green light has been given to improving Dorchester’s Municipal Buildings.

Work could start in the coming weeks on a new roof and, subject to planning consent, on building a new council office to the rear.

If grants can be secured the council will also install a biomass boiler, potentially sharing its heat with the nearby church and county museum.

The project is expected to see the town council move out of its current offices in North Square with the building sold to help fund some of the estimated costs of around £2million.

Town councillors have said that the ambitious project should not result in an increase in the town share of next year’s council tax and, in time, will produce costs savings.

The decision to go for a biomass boiler has proved controversial with some residents claiming that it is not the greenest choice, a view expressed by Cllr Les Fry, who likened it to installing a wood-burning stove. He said he would be concerned if wood had to be imported to fuel it.

Town clerk Adrian Stuart defended the decision at Monday night’s online town council meeting. He said that alternatives of ground source or air source heating had been investigated with experts telling the council neither were suitable for the building and that the only alternative was to install another gas boiler or wait years for hydrogen technology. He said he had been assured that the wood chip fuel could be sourced locally.

Town councillors want to refurbish and re-model the building, increasing and broadening its use, with Dorchester Arts potentially managing the complex on its behalf.

The contract for the works has been won by a Sturminster Newton company, Hammonds, who will work with SWS scaffolding on the roof which dates, in parts, to 1847.

The council has submitted a planning application to Dorset Council for a two-storey extension to the rear of the building to house the boiler and to provide office space for both the town council and Dorchester Arts staff.

A re-modelling of the front of the building is still being discussed along with upgrades to insulation and lighting, solar panels and an improved sound system and new seating.