Safety netting has been installed around Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery after staff found pieces of masonry had fallen from the roof.
Liverpool Council’s planning department recently gave retrospective planning permission to the measures, which have seen the nets attached to the external facades of the Grade-II* listed building.
Documents submitted to the council said the nets were installed quickly after the issue was first discovered in November last year.
The gallery, run by National Museums Liverpool (NML), like others across the country, has been shut to visitors for months due to lockdown restrictions.
It was said that, left uncovered, falling stonework would have posed a risk to staff and visitors.
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The document said: “In November 2020 is was noted by NML that the high level stone work had begun to deteriorate where sections had come loose and had fell to the ground presenting an immediate health and safety risk to our staff and the public. It also highlighted the requirement to protect the existing stonework to prevent further deterioration from happening.
“The amount of work is limited to the top sections of the external stonework. Throughout the works access was granted via truck mounted cherry picker and was completed within 15 days.
“The installation of the netting is now complete.”
The Walker is one of the UK’s most significant art galleries outside London.
Established in 1877, its collections span from modern and contemporary art to medieval and renaissance works.
Museums and galleries are set to reopen next month as part of the third step of the government’s unlocking timetable, although this could be subject to change.
