New weathervane for landmark Town House in Kirkcaldy
Work on a Kirkcaldy landmark is set to get underway.
Fife Council has secured permission to put up a like for like replacement of the globe weathervane which sat above the Town House.
The local authority formally approved a bid for to carry our the work at the building in Wemyssfield.
It comes after repairs to the clock face in 2024.
The existing weathervane including the copper sphere, and the figure of St. Bryce, was removed in early 2021 after it began to lean.
During that process, a section of the original steel mounting tube became trapped within the tower structure and could not be extracted at that time.
This has now been safely removed without requiring temporary dismantling of the surrounding copper cladding. Subsequent condition assessment of the copper sphere identified extensive material degradation, including metal fatigue and deformation. A supporting statement said: “A previous repair that lined the interior of the sphere with glass fibre matting is showing signs of delamination and failure. We consider the sphere is now structurally unsound and any further repairs would only provide a short-term stopgap and not address the underlying metal fatigue that will only intensify with age.
“Should it prove to be required, it is proposed to reduce the overall height of the supporting pole to ensure improved structural performance, reduced wind loading on the tower, and enhanced long-term stability of the reinstated weathervane. The exact extent of the reduction in height is to be determined by a structural engineer but may be 300-400mm.”
The clock tower above the B-listed building was designed by David Carr of Edinburgh, and the vane was the work of Thomas Hadden of Edinburgh.