Manchester arts venue goes £100m over budget
A major new arts venue in Manchester has seen its budget rise by another £25m, taking its total cost to £211m.
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That is £100m more than the original estimate for the Factory International, due to open next year.
Manchester City Council blamed high inflation as part of the "extremely challenging wider environment the project is being delivered in".
It said "we must not lose sight of" how the benefits "for many years to come will far outweigh the one-off cost".
The venue would create or support 1,500 jobs and bring in £1.1bn to the economy over a decade, the council said.
The rising costs were down to "exceptional levels of inflation, workforce shortages and supply-chain disruption exacerbated by the war in Ukraine," it said.
'Complex design'
A council report added: "The ongoing impacts of Covid-19 - with precautionary measures still in place across the construction industry - and challenges associated with the one-off and complex nature of the design have also contributed to budget pressures."
Factory International, which will feature a 1,600-seat theatre and a 5,000-capacity warehouse space for performances and installations, is due to open next summer, four years behind schedule.
The news of its latest budget increase comes days after the opening line-up was announced, including a major installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and a live dance version of The Matrix directed by Danny Boyle.
'Vanity project'
It said it hoped to recoup "a significant proportion" of its costs by selling the venue's naming rights.
The building, which will provide a permanent home for the Manchester International Festival (MIF), has already been renamed Factory International after formerly being known as The Factory.
Eddy Rhead, co-director of Manchester-based architecture and design organisation The Modernist Society, said it felt like the venue was "importing culture into the city as opposed to growing culture within the city", and questioned how the council was able to "magically find money to prop up this vanity project".
A major new arts venue in Manchester has seen its budget rise by another £25m, taking its total cost to £211m.
ทางเข้า slotxo Subscription All interested parties can do that. Apply for SLOTXO through an automatic system that's quicker and faster than applying through the team.
That is £100m more than the original estimate for the Factory International, due to open next year.
Manchester City Council blamed high inflation as part of the "extremely challenging wider environment the project is being delivered in".
It said "we must not lose sight of" how the benefits "for many years to come will far outweigh the one-off cost".
The venue would create or support 1,500 jobs and bring in £1.1bn to the economy over a decade, the council said.
The rising costs were down to "exceptional levels of inflation, workforce shortages and supply-chain disruption exacerbated by the war in Ukraine," it said.
'Complex design'
A council report added: "The ongoing impacts of Covid-19 - with precautionary measures still in place across the construction industry - and challenges associated with the one-off and complex nature of the design have also contributed to budget pressures."
Factory International, which will feature a 1,600-seat theatre and a 5,000-capacity warehouse space for performances and installations, is due to open next summer, four years behind schedule.
The news of its latest budget increase comes days after the opening line-up was announced, including a major installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and a live dance version of The Matrix directed by Danny Boyle.
'Vanity project'
It said it hoped to recoup "a significant proportion" of its costs by selling the venue's naming rights.
The building, which will provide a permanent home for the Manchester International Festival (MIF), has already been renamed Factory International after formerly being known as The Factory.
Eddy Rhead, co-director of Manchester-based architecture and design organisation The Modernist Society, said it felt like the venue was "importing culture into the city as opposed to growing culture within the city", and questioned how the council was able to "magically find money to prop up this vanity project".