Manchester City Council describes its Our Town Hall scheme as the largest and most complex heritage project undertaken in living memory anywhere in the UK. The Grade I-listed Manchester Town Hall is being repaired, restored and refurbished by Bovis Construction (Lendlease, as was).
The council originally budgeted 拢305.2m for the project when work started in 2020 and the original completion date was 2024. Both have been revised several times over the passing years.
Project completion has now been set for spring 2027. This is later than the previous estimated date of August 2026, but with more certainty, the council says. To overcome the final obstacles, a budget increase of 拢95m will be required, taking the overall project budget to 拢524.8m.
The council鈥檚 executive will be asked to approve this increase, which will be funded by borrowing, when it meets on 10th December 2025.聽
The project has been impacted by a combination of challenges, including the covid pandemic and building cost inflation attributed to, inter alia, the invasion of Ukraine.
Materials inflation may have moderated in the past year or two but the cost of labour has been growing at between four and six per cent since October 2024.聽
More directly project-related factors include a shortage of specialist labour capacity in the supply chain, issues with the supply of materials (which under strict heritage rules need to closely match those used in the original construction) and ongoing discovery of further construction challenges, all of which unavoidably cause delays and associated costs, the council said.聽
These latter challenges range from minor obstructions and quirks from the original Victorian build all the way through to structural issues that require on-the-hoof designs being agreed before work can continue.
Add to this, the general difficulties facing the wider construction industry 鈥� three of the subcontractors delivering works packages as part of the project have gone into administration in the last six months alone.聽
Sourcing the required materials is also difficult. As an example, this summer the project鈥檚 principal stone contractor advised that the quarry from which approved stone (closely matching that used in the original construction) was ceasing to supply the construction industry in bulk. This has caused delay as an alternative source of suitable stone is found.聽
Such is the complexity of the project that any delay to one element of work has a knock-on impact on many others, the council said.聽
Deputy council leader Garry Bridges said: 鈥淭his project to safeguard Manchester Town Hall and create unprecedented public access is the biggest heritage project the country has seen for many years. Only the restoration of the Houses of Parliament will surpass it in scale.
鈥淎 project of this size is extraordinarily complicated and has had to navigate a stream of challenges 鈥� from a global pandemic to high inflation in the construction industry and the hidden issues within the building鈥檚 historic fabric.聽聽
鈥淟ike everyone, we have been frustrated by the increased time and cost involved. But if we had not acted decisively to invest in the future of this Victorian masterpiece, many parts of which were reaching the end of their natural lifespans, we would have seen it become unusable and obsolete.
鈥淲e鈥檙e glad that we鈥檙e now on a confident path to completion in spring 2027, in time for the 150th anniversary of its original opening. The results of the project will be there for people to appreciate and enjoy for the next 100 years.聽
鈥淢anchester people are beginning to see the benefits of the expanded Albert Square, at the heart of the city鈥檚 best ever Christmas, and there will be many more events to come in a public square to rival the best in Europe.
鈥淲hen town halls like ours were built in the 19th Century, most Mancunians were excluded from them. But we want to give the building back to the people 鈥� inviting them to a new free visitor attraction and to share in a cultural programme around its reopening.
鈥淣ow we have a date for completion we can begin to look forward with excitement.鈥�
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