Manchester Town Hall restoration needs an extra £29m - and could take up to two years longer than expected

An extra £29m is needed to keep the restoration project of Manchester Town Hall on track. And council bosses fear the reopening of the landmark could be delayed by up to two years - with the end-date for the programme not expected to be given until early next year.

The total budget for the project - the 'largest heritage scheme in the UK' - now stands at £357m. Later this month, the council's executive is expected to approve a £29m 'interim funding package' to keep things going.

That cash, bosses say, is to 'complete a key part of the construction phase'. Council chiefs say 'hyperinflation in the construction industry'; the knock-on cost of delays from the Covid-19 pandemic; and 'other unpredictable factors' have had a '£67m impact'.

Join our FREE Manchester City Centre WhatsApp group by clicking here

A report cites Brexit and 'unprecedented pressure on the supply chain' as factors in the project going over budget. The council insists that if it were not for the sheer number and variety of issues, extra costs would have been absorbed by the development's original contingency budget of £50m.

"The project team continues to work hard to deliver within budget and in a stable economic environment it is highly likely that the project could have been delivered within budget," a report reads.

"However, the project will be delayed due to the combination of the external factors and the extent of discovery uncovered. The biggest risk to the budget is now the cost of delay."

Every month of delay costs between £1m to £1.5m. Now the authority has to borrow an extra £29m - significantly more than the 'worst-case-scenario' figure revealed last autumn. The town hall stresses the cash will be borrowed and 'will not impact on