WORK to preserve the iconic Bolton Town Hall for future generations is costing more than first anticipated.

Urgent restoration work is currently taking place on the beautifully-detailed portico of the listed historic building and the clock face.

Cash ­- £476,000 - for the work needed was approved in September of last year and recently an extra £190,000 has been set aside after additional surveys and investigations revealed “additional urgent works have been identified”.

The money was approved last month to complete the project.

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: “ With complex repair works like this there can be unforeseen costs, when further intrusive investigations and specialist solutions are required.

“Bolton Town Hall is a Grade II* listed building and is rightly a great source of civic pride for Bolton residents.

“By investing these funds now, we can help maintain the safety of the building and secure the future of our town hall for generations to come.”

Last October, work was undertaken to repair the clock tower, looming 198ft above Victoria Square after one of its four glass clock faces had begun to show the ravages of time

Workers with The Cumbria Clock Company climbed more than 60 metres to replace both the hands and the spindle of the face overlooking the square ­- to ensure it continues to work for another 160 years.

The town hall was opened on Thursday, June 5, 1873, by the Prince and Princess of Wales, later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

A fire raged through the town hall in 1981, destroying the Albert Halls, but the clock tower stood firm with the original clock mechanism, built by William Potts of Leeds, intact.