Wolverhampton Civic and Wulfrun Halls: Calls for inquiry

The new operators of The Halls will be AEG Presents, which also operates the O2 Arena

There has been a call for an inquiry into the restoration of two entertainment venues after delays and rising costs.

Wolverhampton's Civic and Wulfrun Halls shut in December 2015 for renovation work, then estimated at £10m.

They are due to reopen to the public in June 2023 - after a £48m spend.

Opposition councillors called the project "disastrous" but the Labour leader said the end result was a "world away" from the project started in 2015.

A series of closing and re-openings occurred midway through the last decade during a programme of works projected to cost £10m. But in 2018 an additional £38m was approved for renovation, with an expired end-date of late 2021 - a period which saw the Covid pandemic and other complications.

Wendy Thompson, Conservative opposition leader at City of Wolverhampton Council, said her party did not argue the venues needed to be saved and said she wanted to see them flourish, but added an external body should consider whether the project had been worth the spend.

"At a time when people are looking at their own costs, when they know council tax could be going up yet again, they are asking 'is this the best value for money'?" she said.

Fellow Conservative councillor, Ellis Turrell, said he had seen the latest results of the project and found it "hard to justify" the cost.

He added: "While we all want the Civic Hall to reopen as soon as possible, the council must learn the lessons from such a disastrous project."

The 84-year-old music venues have hosted artists including The Clash, David Bowie, Nirvana, the Manic Street Preachers and Morrissey.

Opposition leader Wendy Thompson said local people were "not ok" about the time the work had taken

Ian Brookfield, leader of the Labour-run authority, defended the project and said: "The choice was 'what do you do'? Do you do what we've done and refurbish it to a high degree? Or, as some other people would like to do, do you just board it up?

"I don't think the people of this city would appreciate that choice."

He also said the venues would play a key part in the city's economic recovery by bringing in £10m a year.

Council leader Ian Brookfield said the reopened venues would bring £10m a year to the city's economy

Civic and Wulfrun Halls: Timeline of events

The venues will host music as well as sporting events

• December 2015: The halls close for repair work but reopen in October 2016

• January 2017: The halls close again for repair work and reopen in October that year

• January 2018: The council approves an increase in cost, allowing for further renovation, to £38.1m - and says the work should be finished by late 2021

• June 2019: Contractor Shaylor goes into administration

• 2020: Coronavirus restrictions delay work

• Remains of a medieval road are discovered in the site's basement, pushing the finish-date back to 2022

• October 2022: It is announced the first events will be held in 2023