New Manchester arts venue cost rises over £20m

Tuesday, 6 November 2018 07:00

Manchester City Council has revealed the cost of a new arts venue has risen to over £20 million – with the project now expected to come in at over £130m in total.

The Factory, to be built in the city's St John's neighbourhood, will be a 5,000-capacity venue on the site of the former Granada TV studios and is scheduled to open in early 2020 with construction expected to begin early next year.

A recent review of the project identified a number of additional costs, including increased rates of inflation as well as the technical complexity of achieving the required acoustic standards for the building itself.

The council says the budget increase will be funded entirely through receipts from sales of council-owned land.

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