Usher Hall work costs three times original bill

Published on Sunday 14 November 2010 15:28

The final bill for a troubled overhaul of Edinburgh's flagship concert hall will be £37.5 million, The Scotsman can reveal.

• The renovated usher Hall now includes a new arts quarter and an impressive spiral staircase

The city council disclosed that the second phase of the troubled Usher Hall project, which has included a glass extension and the creation of a new "arts quarter", will come to 27.5m - three times more than early estimates of 9m.

The revamp was more than five years late in being completed, with the second phase price tag being "pegged" at 19m in 2006, before major structural problems with the building were discovered.

An initial phase, to revamp the inside of the building, was completed ten years ago at a cost of 10m, after an improvement programme was ordered by the council in the wake of part of the auditorium falling down hours after a Tony Bennett concert.

It took another seven years to get the second phase - which included reinforcing the building's extensions, creating new backstage and hospitality areas, a new box office and administration offices - under way.

The glass extension was dogged by delays, but finally opened up earlier this year.

However, work on the arts quarter was not finished in time for this year's Edinburgh International Festival and the new-look venue was only officially unveiled last month.

But a new report on the project, which is due to be discussed by councillors on Thursday, reveals there have been no recent major cost increases.

One source at the city council said: "It's been a long haul, but anyone visiting the venue can see for themselves how the hall has been improved.

"Everyone would have liked the work completed a lot earlier, but it was a hugely complicated project."

Compiled by city development director Dave Anderson and Jim Inch, the council's head of corporate services, the report states that although some "snagging" work was expected to be carried out over the next few months, the final costs of phases two and three - the arts quarter - were expected to be kept within budget.

The report said: "The refurbishment of the hall has resulted in major improvements to the building's facilities for performers, hirers and audience members. Access for people with disabilities has been improved, the area around the hall and its immediate neighbours has been upgraded, and the hall's official opening, to a full house on 10 October, was a taste of many more exciting events and concerts to be hosted by the hall for years to come."

The council is now turning its attention to the refurbishment of another historic venue, the Assembly Rooms, work on which is due to start early next year and be completed in time for the 2012 festivals season.