The Mancunian Way: Millions over budget

Keep up to date with all the big stories from across Greater Manchester in the daily Mancunian Way newsletter. You can receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every weekday by signing up right here.

Here's the Mancunian Way for today:

Hello,

It’s been described as the largest heritage scheme in the UK, but council bosses say they now need millions more for the Manchester Town Hall revamp.

We’ll be discussing the unexpected problems workers have faced with theproject - from Brexit to nesting falcons - in today’s newsletter.

Also today, which Hollywood star says Andy Burnham should be Labour leader?

Let’s begin.

Council bosses say they now need an extra £29m to keep the restoration of Manchester Town Hall on track.

As Ethan Davies reports, the total budget for the project is set to rise to £357m later this month when the council's executive is expected to approve a £29m 'interim funding package' to keep things going.

The authority was preparing to fund an extra £17m to the budget, if needed, last autumn. But the council will now need to borrow an extra £29m - far more than the 'worst-case-scenario' figure revealed last autumn.

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'. Each month of delay is said to cost between £1m to £1.5m.

They say the reopening could be delayed by up to two years, with an end-date not expected to be given until early next year. The town hall says the cash will be borrowed and 'will not impact on service budgets'.

A council report cites Brexit and 'unprecedented pressure on the supply chain' as factors in the project going over budget. Further surveys