NEW BALLS PLEASE!

GUILDHALL TIME BALL TO BE REMOVED FOR REPAIRS

- By ANDREW SPENCE

THE golden Time Ball on Hull's Guildhall is to be removed for repairs, Hull City Council has confirmed.

After being broken for over a century, the Time Ball underwent a full £400,000 refurbishment in 2023, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Hull City Council. Despite this, the ball, which is meant to rise at 12:57 each day, soon stopped functioning once again.

With specialist contractors having visited the site a number of times this year to inspect the mechanism, the council has now confirmed the Time Ball will need to be removed and transported to the contractor's workshop, where upgraded components will be installed and tested under controlled conditions. This approach, the council says, is intended to minimise the risk of future issues.