Trustees rise to the challenge of fixing Maltings’ mystery leak

How many people does it take to find a leak? Three – along with a cherry picker – when it comes to the Great Dunmow Maltings...

Trustees of the historic building, which dates back to the 16th century, were taken up to inspect the roof on Friday after water had seeped inside.

Instead of using scaffolding, which would have cost thousands of pounds, the trustees brainstormed and decided to use a cherry picker to find the source of the problem.

Shaun Jenner, plant manager at Actual Access, in Great Dunmow, provided the machinery, while staff at Blue Chip Business Centre cleared their car park to make room for it.

Great Dunmow town councillor Trudi Hughes, who was one of two trustees who went up, said: “It is brilliant that people from different parts of Great Dunmow have come together to solve the problem.”

Luckily, the leak was repaired by Mr Jenner who used some form of mastic/waterproof sealant to prevent the water from getting inside.

David Wolfe, chairman of the Dunmow Maltings Trust, said: “It has been a great afternoon and we have been lucky with the weather – it would not have been much fun in the rain.

“If we had left the leak it could have become very expensive to repair, so I am thankful that we were able to sort it.”