Royal Festival Hall refurbishment runs into trouble as budget soars

The cost of the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall, which got under way this month, has already jumped by £20m after asbestos was found in the exisitng 1950s building.

The work will now take longer to complete, with the finishing date moving from spring 2007 to mid June 2007. The RFH has now agreed a guarantee that costs will escalate no further with the contractor, ISG Interior/Exterior. Davis Langdon is the cost consultant on the project.

The RFH said in a detailed statement that Davis Langdon estimated in 2003 that the job would cost £71m. It said: “Once they started preliminary work and the tendering process began, it was obvious that the final figure would be more due to: building costs escalation in London and the South East; complexities of asbestos removal; and structural complexities.”

The structural complexities cited include the building’s 54 years of age and grade 1 listed status, which mean that it requires “high quality materials and skilled workmanship to meet heritage requirements”.

A further factor was the addition of extra landscaping plans on level 1 riverside and the Hungerford Terrace.

The RFH said: “We now do have a final figure agreed with the contractors and it will not go up any further. The two stage tendering process now ensures that we do have final figures guaranteed with the contractors.”

The RFH was confident it would find the extra funds needed for the project: “We are in the home straight now with around £10.8bn as the fund raising target,” it said.

Of the £91m, £30m is being spent on the infrastructure. The project will see the construction of a new auditorium, including the replacement of acoustics, seating, air conditioning, stage and backstage facilities. It also involves building new foyers, lifts, toilets, an education centre and roof terraces. The aim is to preserve the building’s design while replacing old machinery - and now removing asbestos.

The RFH said it was working on plans for the re-opening season. “We get final completion from the builders in spring 2007 following installation of most of the stage rigging and testing of the acoustics, including some hard hat concerts. We anticipate needing about 3 months for commissioning, testing and preparing the building for public occupancy and the initial stage of re-installation of the organ. So re-opening will be mid June.”

The project is one of a tranche of scheme planned to improve the South Bank Centre, situated just south of the River Thames.