YORK restoration specialist William Anelay has completed a project giving a new lease of life to two landmark buildings in Bradford.

William Anelay, founded in 1747, has now completed phase one of repair work to the chimney stacks, a variety of stonework and to the Channing Way elevation at Bradford City Hall while the nearby Britannia House has undergone emergency repairs to the building fabric, stone repairs and repointing as well as repair work to the iconic copper dome.

Work started on Britannia House, a seven-storey building owned by Bradford City Council, last August with the conservation of Bradford City Hall beginning in November 2013.

William Anelay’s contracts manager Nigel Kynaston said: "The rusting structural steel frame at Britannia House was causing the stonework to split on every elevation and required urgent attention.

"We’ve utilised Cathodic Protection, a method that’s popular within the maritime industry to prevent rust but rarely used in construction, to provide a structural integrity using almost 2000 tiny anodes inserted into the stonework.

"We are also working on general stonework degradation at Bradford City Hall across the road from Britannia House and have just completed phase one.

"We’ve carried out extensive repointing and stonework repairs and replacement at this venue as well as making the chimney stacks safe for decades to come with phase two work due to start soon on other elevations."

William Anelay Ltd is one of the oldest construction companies in the world. Based in York and Manchester, the company employs more than 100 staff and has a turnover of £30 million.