Museum opening delayed after contractor goes bust

The Jewry Wall formed a key building in the city, known as Ratae, during 400 years of occupation

The opening of a Roman museum in Leicester undergoing a multi-million pound transformation has been delayed.

Work to revamp the Jewry Wall Museum to create a new attraction started in 2021.

But work was previously delayed due to Covid-19 and a contractor going bust.

On Thursday, Leicester City Council said the second contractor working on the project had collapsed.

The museum was set to open in January next year, but the council said it had been delayed until the summer.

Elmwood Projects, which was commissioned to design and manufacture the exhibition and displays for the centre, announced it was going into liquidation earlier this month, the council said.

The new museum will bring to life the stories of everyday life in Roman Leicester

It comes after the original contractor NMCN unexpectedly went under.

Another company was brought in last year to continue construction work after NMCN folded.

The council said the building work was "making good progress", but this latest blow, regarding another contractor, would push back the opening date.

The council said it was hoping the issue could be resolved “without too much of an impact” on the opening date and costs.

Hopeful for resolution

Richard Sword, strategic director for city developments and neighbourhoods at the council, said: “It is very rare for two such well-established companies working on the same project to be hit in this way.

“These are very difficult times for the construction industry, with three of the four companies that originally bid for this work now in administration. We sympathise with everyone affected by these company closures.

"At this point it is difficult to say exactly how this will affect the opening date and our costs, but I am hopeful we can resolve this without too much of an impact.”

Glasgow-based Elmwood was providing the design, build and installation of exhibition cases, large mosaic displays, object mounts and some of the audio-visual elements for the centre.

The museum, in St Nicholas' Circle, will be opposite the remnants of the Jewry Wall, the remains of a Roman bath house, which dates back to about AD160 and is 29ft (9m) high.

The original £7m price tag shot up to more than £11m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said previously.

In 2021, the city council estimated the total cost would be about £15.5m if completed in spring 2023.

The museum closed to the public in 2017 after the Vaughan College pulled out of the site, allowing new owners Leicester City Council to embark on a plan to turn the building into a new attraction.

Additional reporting by Hannah Richardson, Local Democracy Reporter.