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Budget for Perth City Hall project rises by £700k due to ‘unanticipated’ works

Work is taking place to transform Perth City Hall.
Work is taking place to transform Perth City Hall.

The budget for the Perth City Hall project has swelled by £700,000 due to “unanticipated additional works surrounding archaeology and repairs to the building fabric.”

Already £26.5 million has been earmarked for the new museum, whose centrepiece will be the Stone of Destiny – one of Scotland and the UK’s most iconic objects.

Now Perth and Kinross Council has allocated more money to the project after archaeological surveys last year established a fault with part of the wall of the original City Hall, which was demolished in 1908.

Repairs to the fabric have subsequently been carried out.

Contingency funds

The increased budget was set out on page 44 of papers for PKC’s finance and resources committee to be held on Wednesday September 7.

The document also revealed that the estimated cost of delivering the Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) has also risen to £150m.

The Mercat Cross sits between Perth City Hall and St John’s Shopping Centre.

A PKC spokesperson says that renovation works, which began in January 2021, remain on budget and that the new facility will open in 2024.

They added: “The additional funding is to replenish the client contingency fund for the project.

“These funds are part of the risk management of any construction project to deal with any unexpected costs or variations we instruct.

“Repairs to the fabric have been completed and the council will contribute £700,000 to replenishing the fund from uncommitted capacity within the council’s approved capital budget while Culture Perth and Kinross has committed to fundraising the remaining £300,000. There will be no impact on operating costs.”

‘Unexpected costs’ always possible

Cllr John Duff, leader of the Conservative group on PKC, said: “The refurbishment of Perth City Hall is an enormous undertaking reflected in the overall budget for this project.

Councillor John Duff.

“At the outset, it was always recognised that there could be some unexpected costs incurred as the project developed and a contingency budget was set aside for such circumstances.

“A number of factors have resulted in a need to draw down on our contingency element – and that is understandable in the current climate of Covid and inflation.

“However, the main thing is that the project remains on budget and on schedule and I look forward to it being ready for opening in early 2024. It will bring significant benefits to the city of Perth and the wider area.”

Job creation

The project to transform City Hall is being managed in partnership between PKC and Culture Perth and Kinross.

The UK Government is chipping in with £10m as part of the Tay Cities Deal.

It is estimated that the development will bring tens of thousands more visitors to Perth and Kinross, with an annual added value to the local area estimated at £2.5m.

The project will create 19 jobs in the City Hall itself, with an additional 37 jobs in construction.

The centuries-old Stone of Destiny.

In 2020 the Queen approved plans to return the Stone of Destiny to Perthshire, more than 700 years after it was controversially moved out of Scotland.

The Stone of Destiny currently resides at Edinburgh Castle but there was a successful campaign to return it to Perthshire.

Restaurant closure

Not everyone is pleased with the development, though.

The owner of tapas restaurant Bistua said works on City Hall outside the front door forced its closure.

Fencing, a noisy generator and building works opposite the entrance to the South St John’s Place restaurant reportedly put diners off eating there.

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