Willmott Dixon work on Sheffield music venue halted after costs quadruple

Sheffield Council has paused work on a venue and events space due to “astronomic” cost increases – just weeks before Willmott Dixon was due to start on site.

The costs of the project have now almost quadrupled.

Last week the contractor announced it had been appointed for Event Central, a £14.4m overhaul of a former retail building into a 200-person music venue, which also has four storeys of co-working space as well as a ground-floor cafe and bar. 

Willmott Dixon said work was due to begin by the end of August, with construction set to include a new atrium, strengthening works to accommodate revised loadings, a facade upgrade and complete fit-out. 

However, the project has been halted by Sheffield Council’s finance and performance policy committee, which queried why the cost of the project had increased from £3.8m in its original outline business case.

Councillor Martin Smith asked council officers why the “astronomic” price increase had happened and whether the project’s business case had been reviewed to ensure the investment was still a “wise use” of public money. 

He added the council had already developed a similar music venue on Cambridge Street that it was now struggling to lease. 

Council officers admitted that the original price tag for the building works was “an incorrect estimate of what the project would cost”, explaining that a range of assumptions had been made and “they proved to be incorrect assumptions”.

They also said a not-for-profit organisation was in advanced discussions to operate Event Central but admitted they were unsure whether an updated appraisal of the outline business case had taken place. 

Councillors have now voted to defer a decision on signing off the capital spending until the council’s regeneration team has answered its queries on an updated business case. 

A decision over whether the project should be signed off is expected to be made at a meeting of Sheffield Council’s finance and performance committee on 28 August. 

Willmott Dixon was contacted for comment.