THE TOP floor of historic Garth House, Bicester, is nearly ready to be opened up for the first time in 20 years.

Bicester Town Council, which is based there, has spent more than £250,000 renovating the roof to make it watertight.

The top floor, servants’ former quarters, had not been used for about two decades because of the leaking roof.

Now work is nearly finished and all the scaffolding is expected to be removed by the end of June.

Councillors are still deciding if rooms will be opened for community use.

The former hunting lodge was built in the 1840s and was bought, with its surrounding nine acres, by Bicester Urban District Council for £6,500 in 1946.

Town council leader James Porter said: “Garth House is the jewel in the crown of the park. We have put it back in a condition where we hope it will be here for another century.”

The work has not been without its problems. It was due to be finished at the end of March but was put back by bad weather and complications.

“They lifted the whole roof and found a couple of the structural beams had cracked under pressure,” Mr Porter said.

About 80 per cent of the original features of the roof have been reused, and the weather vane has been straightened.

The council got £20,000 from Cherwell District Council to insulate the building.

It will now decide whether to relocate to the new £5m civic building, which will be built in Franklin’s Yard. This will be owned by Cherwell District Council.

Mr Porter said Garth House will remain in use, possibly by community groups, if the council decided to move.

He said: “We are considering all the options and expect it to come back before the council this autumn.”

Garth House has been declared a community asset under the Localism Act. This means the community will be given a chance to buy the property if it is ever put up for sale .

The work, which started in December, will also give the council, which is based there, access to the roof.