Repairs and renovation work worth £1.7million will be carried out on a landmark Shetland building.
The urgent work will be carried out on Lerwick Town Hall amid concerns about it structure.
Shetland Islands Council approved the work at a private meeting last week, and heard it was “increasingly urgent” need to repair the Grade B building’s stonework, particularly around its stained glass windows.
The renovation is expected to take place over two years between 2016 and 2018 at a cost of £1.68m.
The council hopes to receive around £929,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to put towards the project.
The authority from Edinburgh architects Groves-Raines on how best to deal with the problem, despite the building being renovated in the 1990s.
It is not clear what caused the deterioration of the building, although various factors have been mooted such as the stone used in the previous renovation.
It was decided a broader renovation would be more effective than ongoing repairs.
Council convener Malcolm Bell said the meeting was held in private due to sensitive information relating to the tendering process.
The report suggests that the expensive renovation coming during an era of cost-cutting might tarnish the council’s reputation within public perception.
Mr Bell said he understood people’s concerns, but they had a duty to maintain the historic building.
“We need this expenditure like we need a hole in the head, frankly. It’s very unfortunate that it’s cropped up, but we have no choice,” he said.
“If a window came in, or is irrevocably damaged, that would be an even greater reputational disaster for the council.”
The council has submitted a second bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund after an initial application was knocked back.
Mr Bell said they would be looking at every option to draw in external funding and insisted it would not impact on council services or other budgets.