WIRRAL Council has cut the number of times a town hall clock tower chimes from four times an hour to once an hour following a complaint about the level of noise. Birkenhead Town Hall on Hamilton Square officially opened in 1887.

The historic Grade II* listed building was previously the base of the County Borough of Birkenhead and following the formation of Wirral Council in 1974, it has continued to be used by the local authority. This includes the registration of births, marriages, and deaths as well as annual Remembrance Sunday ceremonies and some rooms being used for concerts and weddings.

The future of the building currently remains uncertain as the council plan to move the registrar service out of the building and could potentially close it down to save money on running costs. Options for the building will be presented to councillors at a later date.

The hall’s clock stands at 200 feet in height and contains five bells that were manufactured and fitted by Gillett and Co for a total cost of £900 at the time. The town hall began construction in 1883 and was finished four years later.

Following reports the clocktower’s chimes had been reduced, a Wirral Council spokesperson said: “A complaint was made by a resident near Birkenhead Town Hall regarding the frequency and volume of the chimes from the building’s clock tower, which sounded on the quarter hour.

“The authority has a duty to investigate in such cases. Following an assessment by the Council’s Environmental Health at the resident’s location the chimes were found to be at a level of a statutory noise nuisance.

“On advice from the Council Heritage team and because the authority, like all others, has an obligation to comply with addressing a noise nuisance, a compromise was agreed to reduce the chimes to hourly while the authority looks into other available options.”