No extra cash for Town Hall revamp, leader says

The leader of Manchester City Council has said there will be no extra cash for restoring the city's historic Town Hall.

The project's original budget was £330m but has since risen to almost £525m, following delays and unexpected problems during the restoration.

Garry Bridges said the project was now coming in on its revised budget and there would be "no more increases".

The Grade I-listed Victorian building closed in 2018 for the work, which was initially expected to be completed by 2024. It is now due to reopen to the public in spring 2027.

Bridges described the work as the largest heritage restoration project in the country and said the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and even nesting birds on the roof had contributed to delays and rising costs.

"This is an enormous investment by the people of Manchester themselves into a building that they own and is part of their history," he said.

"There's been a lot of things that have made additional cost but we're really pleased to say that after we've revised the budget, it is now coming in on budget and there won't be any more increases."

Workers have faced a number of challenges during the restoration, including unexpected discoveries beneath the floors.

One member of the restoration team said large amounts of heavily compacted sawdust had been found beneath a former dance floor.

He suggested the material might have been installed to reduce noise travelling to rooms below when the floor was replaced in the 1960s.

The sawdust had to be broken out by hand and removed from the building, rather than being vacuumed up.

"It took us 18 weeks just to remove the sawdust," he said.

Other discoveries beneath the floors meant the underfloor heating system had to be redesigned.

The restoration has also involved painstaking work on the building's historic lighting, including six large ceiling lights originally designed for gas lighting.

A member of the team said some wall lights had been stripped of several layers of paint, revealing original designs which were then recreated using matching colours.

Elsewhere, about 160,000 roof tiles have been replaced, while work on the historic windows has involved removing and reinstalling individual panes of glass.

Bridges said the restored Town Hall would offer visitors access to parts of the building which many people had never seen before.

"The big thing about this reopening is it will be open to the public in a way that it never has been before," he said.

"Buildings like this were often built just as much to keep people out as to invite people in and were a statement about the power of the people that held office within them."

He said a new reception area and visitor experience would tell the story of the building, the city and its civic history.

New lifts have been installed to make all floors accessible, while visitors will be able to enter through accessible entrances.

However, some areas, including those used by coroners, registrars and senior council officials, will remain closed to visitors.

Bridges said the reopening would be marked by a programme of events throughout 2027, culminating in celebrations of the building's 150th anniversary in September.

"There will be many opportunities for people to come and visit and to come and celebrate throughout that whole year," he said.

But, he said, the reopening would take place over a period of time, with people able to enter the building in spring before it was fully staffed and occupied.

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