King George’s Hall refurb costs soar

The cost of repairing and refurbishing Blackburn’s King George’s Hall has soared by 50 per cent from £9million to £13.5m.

As a result other council projects in the town centre have had to be rescheduled or refinanced to pay for the overrun with the £2.5m renovation of the nearby Tony’s Ballroom put on hold to help pay for it.

The huge rise in the cost of the upgrade to East Lancashire’s premier entertainment venue is revealed in a report to Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive board meeting on Thursday next week by growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood which outlines serious additional problems discovered in the initial phases of the refurbishment.

His Conservative group counterpart Cllr Paul Marrow said the increase was an embarrassment to the authority raising serious questions about the initial estimates for the work to the Grade II heritage-listed building in Northgate.

The additional investment will allow for rewiring in the main Concert Hall and Windsor Suite, new high-spec lighting, replacements for the lifts and pay for upgrades to Akbar’s restaurant, based within KGH.

It will also pay for new gas and water pipes into the building.

Works so far completed include the roof being re-slated, windows refurbished and a full strip out of the heating system ready for significant upgrades.

The additional £4.5m – topping up £9m already committed – will also be made up of government Growth Funding, including a new Pride in Place Impact Fund, designed to support town centres, cultural and community initiatives.

The proposed new works will not delay KGH’s scheduled reopening in Autumn next year in time for the 2026 Pantomime and Christmas shows and Cllr Mahmood’s report reveals the scaffolding surrounding the landmark building will come down in the Spring.

He said: “King George’s Hall really is the jewel in the crown of Blackburn’s Cultural Quarter.

“It’s incredibly important to the town centre – including the boost it brings to the night time economy – with more than 100,000 visitors passing through its doors every single year.

“The fact that the building had not received any significant upgrades in its long and incredibly successful history really is testament to the quality of the original design and build, but this new investment is very much needed.

“For quite some time, the roof had been starting to fail, there hadn’t been any heating or air conditioning, and customers told us that the bars and bathrooms were in desperate need of updating.

“Of course, given the age of the building and with any scheme of this type, we’ve uncovered issues as the works has progressed with the scale of the deterioration of the fabric of the building being far greater than we had anticipated.

“We have continued to move on at pace, and whilst these works are underway, we want to ensure we do everything we can to futureproof the venue, an important part of the cultural fabric of our borough.

“This type of project really is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, one that we are absolutely determined to make the most of – ensuing our residents and their families can continue to enjoy it for many more decades to come.

“We worked incredibly hard to secure new Government funding to be able to deliver this project, with the council committing an additional £1m given how important this project is.

“The additional £4.5m is being funded through cash we’ve successfully secured from the government.

“There’s no additional financial ask from the council.”

Cllr Marrow said: “Whilst the report tries to put a positive spin on the revamp of King Georges Hall, the council most feel embarrassed in admitting its failure to keep on top of the maintenance of an icon Grade II listed building which is a gem within the heart of Blackburn and if lost would be a real nail in the coffin of the town centre.

“The cost of the project has risen by 50 per cent and serious questions have to be asked about the quality of the initial reports into the building.

“Whilst Cllr Mahmood claims the extra money is coming out of secured local growth funding and new government funding, that means other future council projects will have to be curtailed to the tune of £4.5m.”

Over the past Century, King George’s has welcomed the likes of Queen, The Beatles and David Bowie to its stage and in recent years continued to attract big names with the likes of Liam Gallagher, Florence + The Machine and comedians – including Lee Evans, Jimmy Carr and Jason Manford – all playing to sell-out audiences.