Museum revamp could go £2.5m over budget - report

Plans for the museum's refurbishment include exta galleries and the addition of a fifth floor

A Grade II listed museum's regeneration scheme risks going £2.5m over budget and may have to be revised, a council report has revealed.

Herefordshire Council said "cost consultants" had put the total cost of the Hereford Museum and Art Gallery refurbishment at £21.8m, more than the current budget of £19.2m.

The increase was due to the discovery of asbestos in the building, higher scaffolding costs and the need for a new electrical substation, the authority added.

Costs “can be reduced through working with a contractor," the progress report said.

But the project would only progress beyond the design stage if it was “deliverable and within the approved budget".

The Broad Street building has already secured £10.8m from the government, National Lottery and Arts Council England alongside £8.4m from the local authority itself.

The money is set to go towards six new galleries and display spaces, a temporary exhibition space, a fifth floor and new commercial areas and retail space.

Further funding bids from other sources were "also being explored”, the council said.

Councillor Harry Bramer said it was likely the local authority would revise "where and how the available budget is spent" at the final design stage.

“We won’t get final costs until we work through the detailed elements of the design with a construction partner, which is the next phase of the project," he said.

The council is also looking to commission a contractor to "undertake the design, build and handover” of the project and they are set to be appointed in January.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.