More time and money is required to complete the project after being started in 2020, say Manchester City Council
Main contractor Bovis will now not finish the Manchester town hall refurbishment project until Spring 2027, and total cost will now be £525m.
The project was originally slated to be finished in 2024, with a budget of £330m.
A myriad of delays
A statement by the City Council says: “The project has been impacted by a unique combination of challenges since its construction phase started in 2020. Wider factors have ranged from disruption caused by the Covid pandemic and a volatile economic climate, influenced by external factors such as the war in Ukraine, to unprecedented materials and labour cost inflation in the construction industry.
“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.
“These challenges range from minor obstructions and quirks from the original Victorian build all the way through to structural issues which require design solutions before work can continue.
“These issues have continued to assail the project since the last major update in October 2024. For instance, the wider construction industry is experiencing a steep rise in the number of companies falling into administration. Three of the contractors delivering works packages as part of the project have gone into administration in the last six months alone.
“Sourcing the required materials is also difficult. As an example, this summer the project’s 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.
“Such is the complexity of the project that any delay to one element of work has a knock-on impact on many others.
“Inflation has also continued to be an issue with the cost of labour growing at between four and six per cent since October 2024.”
Manchester is undergoing heavy development
Just last month, Robert De Niro came to the sixth-largest city in England to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Nobu Manchester tower, which will be the tallest residential skyscraper in the UK, 10 metres taller than the Pinnacle in London.
The tower is scheduled for completion in 2031.
Moreover, in October, Manchester City Council announced the release of land to build more than 700 new homes in collaboration with the Manchester Housing Providers Partnership.
This will include:
- Broadmoss, Charlestown by Legal and General – 271 homes social rent and shared ownership
- Viadux 2, Deansgate by Salboy – A 133 social rent apartment tower that helps react to the evolving city centre housing market, providing more options for Manchester people to live centrally
- Alexandra Road, Moss Side by Legal and General – 64 homes and apartments capped at the Manchester Living Rent, helping to meet major demand in this area.
- Gransmoor Avenue, Openshaw by Southway and JMM – 51 social rent homes helping to meet demand in an area where right to buy purchases are contributing to limited access to Council housing
- Former Levenshulme Baths by Legal and General – 34 apartments that will be capped at the Manchester Living Rent, bringing back into use a long-term disused site
The post Manchester town hall refurbishment to cost another £95m appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
