Delayed Wolverhampton Civic Hall revamp restarting in autumn after Shaylor collapse
A new contractor for the long-delayed revamp of Wolverhampton Civic halls should be in place ready for work to re-start in the autumn, council bosses say.
Chiefs insist that despite the latest delay, the £38 million overhaul will be completed on time and to schedule.
The Civic Halls are due to re-open in 2021 – five years later than originally planned and nearly four times its original budget.
Wolverhampton Council’s director of regeneration, Richard Lawrence, said firms had already expressed an interest in taking on the job, and that a new contractor could be appointed next month.
It comes after the collapse of original developer, the Shaylor Group, on June 17.
Mr Lawrence told a meeting of the authority’s scrutiny panel: “We’re progressing with the scheme and we are confident we will have a new contractor in place in the autumn.
"We’re confident we will deliver the scheme within the scheme timetable and budget.”
The first phase of the work to remove asbestos was completed at the end of May.
And while Shaylor had workers on site on June 1 they had not started the refurbishment work – meaning there was no payment issued.
“The collapse of Shaylor as an entity was unforeseen – we undertake due diligence as part of the original contract and subsequently before the variation of the contract in February or March, both times there was no insight they would cease trading,” Mr Lawrence said.
Leader of the opposition on the council, Wendy Thompson, said: “It’s pretty clear there’s a delay and I think it’s foolish to say otherwise because plainly the work is not carrying on. We hope from what has been said it will be restarted in the autumn.”
