The latest total £525m budget and time scale increase has been confirmed in a project update by Manchester City Council.
Bovis – then known as Lendlease – started the job in 2020 with an original budget of £330m and completion date of 2024.
The scheme has been hit by a series of cost and time increases in the intervening years and the council described it as “the largest and most complex heritage project undertaken in living memory anywhere in the UK.”
The council update said: “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.”
Most of the external work is now complete with the focus of the project moving to the interior.
Deputy Council Leader Cllr Garry Bridges said: “Like everyone, we have been frustrated by the increased time and cost involved. But if we had not acted decisively to invest in the future of this Victorian masterpiece, many parts of which were reaching the end of their natural lifespans, we would have seen it become unusable and obsolete.
“We’re glad that we’re now on a confident path to completion in spring 2027, in time for the 150th anniversary of its original opening. The results of the project will be there for people to appreciate and enjoy for the next 100 years.”
