The £50million refurbishment of Colston Hall has suffered a succession of major new blows, sending delays and costs spiralling.
Coronavirus has caused fresh setbacks, while the building’s Victorian structure has been deemed the “worst-case scenario”, a report has revealed.
More asbestos has also been found at Bristol’s largest concert hall, which is set to change its name in the wake of the toppling of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston’s nearby statue by Black Lives Matter protesters last Sunday.
The scale of the delays and additional costs are still being assessed but the problems have already halted the design process.
A report to Bristol City Council cabinet said: “Work to de-risk the building has continued and a significant amount of structural issues have been uncovered.
“The poor structural stability of the building has manifested as a major issue and is close to our worst-case scenario.
“This has required significant design alterations and engagement with Historic England and revised structural steel designs and a number of structural temporary works.
“This is in order to make the building safe and ensure that design requirements can be met.
“Additional asbestos has also been discovered and further archaeological discoveries are still being made, although this has almost been mitigated as there is little demolition work left.
“This redesign has created pressure and delay in the design process and a design freeze has not been achieved.
“The advent of Covid-19 has also impacted on the project.
“The site is operating at 75 per cent capacity due to supply chain partners furloughing staff, and building material suppliers are only delivering to critical construction projects such as hospitals.
“This is further adding delay and cost to the project.”
Work to restore Colston Hall has continued despite the coronavirus lockdown, with construction firm Willmott Dixon saying it was deemed “essential”.
The company said it was abiding by a government request to continue working while ensuring staff observed social distancing.
Everyone going onto the site has their temperature taken and there is hand sanitiser both inside and outside the gates.
The hall’s revamp had already run into lengthy delays because of the “delicate Victorian structure of the building”.
It was planned to reopen in 2020 but last autumn it was announced it wouldn't be ready until at least next year.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “An assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on capital projects is under way.
“Until that is complete the scale of change for any one project will be unknown.”
The report was presented to cabinet on Tuesday, June 2, although members did not discuss Colston Hall.
