It's £76m overbudget and two years behind schedule... just how complicated is the job?
The Our Town Hall project, a £430 million refurbishment of the grade-I listed Victorian hall, is of enormous scope. Council-employed teams have to do everything from dirty work like digging new trenches in the basement for pipes, to the ever-so-delicate job of reapplying gold leaf paint to 150-year-old murals.
But the project has hit problems. This week, council chiefs announced it’s £76m over-budget and it's now expected to complete in July 2026 and open to the public in early autumn. The original date was 2024. It’s where the most prestigious weddings will take place, and where banquets will be held for visiting dignitaries.
The clockface has been completely refurbished. Panes of glass damaged over the years by WWII, weather and birds, have been replaced with only those in the minute dials still original. While refurbishers have Waterhouse’s original architects’ drawings, they don't have structural plans from when it was built which contain necessary detail. That means they’re constantly discovering new problems, with project directors claiming they’ve found at least one new issue every week since last summer.
Manchester City Centre Manchester Council M.E.N. Explore
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