The cost of restoring Manchester Town Hall has risen by a further £95m, with completion now pushed back to spring 2027. The Grade I-listed project was originally due to finish in summer 2024.
Manchester City Council confirmed that the overall budget has increased to £524.8m. This is 59 per cent higher than the initial £330m allocation set when work began.
The council said the scheme had been affected by a “unique combination” of pressures. These include a shortage of specialist heritage labour, continued materials and labour cost inflation, and a series of subcontractor collapses.
Three unnamed subcontractors working on key packages have entered administration in the past six months. The council said the complexity of the 148-year-old building meant delays to one element of work often caused wider disruption across the programme.
Lendlease was appointed as main contractor in 2019. The job is now being delivered under the revived Bovis name after Lendlease’s UK construction arm was sold to Atlas Holdings.
Deputy council leader Garry Bridges said the project had “navigated a stream of challenges”. He acknowledged frustration over rising costs but argued that failing to intervene would have risked the building becoming “unusable and obsolete”.
The council reported last year that costs had already grown by nearly £100m due to hyperinflation, subcontractor claims and unexpected conservation work, including the presence of nesting falcons.
The latest funding increase will need approval from the council’s executive committee on 10 December. The additional money will be met through borrowing.
Bridges said the project was now on a “confident path” to completion in 2027 and would be ready for the 150th anniversary of the town hall’s original opening. He added that the restored building would serve the city “for the next 100 years”.
