Sensitive information surrounding Manchester’s delayed Factory arts project should have been made public, the leader of the city council’s opposition has said.
The ever-increasing cost of the flagship venue, which is now expected to rise to £186m, has prompted concerns around ‘systematic’ overspending at the town hall.
It is one of several capital projects reporting overspends due to delays and inflating budgets caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the council has said publicly that an extra £45m will be added to the Factory’s budget, the finer details were discussed in private by the executive on Wednesday.
The report was considered to contain exempt information that could only be reserved for ‘Part B’ of the meeting, where members of the public are excluded from proceedings.
A general update of the council’s capital programme, with mention of the Factory, was presented during the public 'Part A' of the meeting where Liberal Democrat councillor John Leech expressed 'disappointment'.
The leader of the council's Lib Dem group said: “I’d like to express disappointment in that there’s not very much information relating to the Factory in Part A, and there’s a lot of information in Part B that could’ve been discussed in public rather than private.”
Council leader Sir Richard Leese said a detailed report including information on the Factory went before the council’s resources and governance scrutiny committee on October 6.
It was there that the committee chair, Labour councillor Sarah Russell, described the Factory’s financial situation as ‘eye poppingly concerning’.
A request for an external independent review of Manchester council’s management of its capital programme was also agreed by the committee.
But Coun Leese told Coun Leech that the ‘enormous’ benefits of the Factory, which is expected to add £1.1bn to Manchester’s economy and create 1,500 new jobs, needed to be kept in mind.
He added: “I could talk about the 1980s and 1990s but one of the things this city released then was that investment in cultural infrastructure was fundamental to building a new future for the city.
“It is exactly the case now, but probably even more so than it was a couple of years ago.
“The need to show confidence in the city, to be able to do things that are bold but will bring real benefits not just in jobs but in quality of life for tens of thousands of Manchester residents, is really important.”
The Factory, which was originally expected to cost £110m to build in time for a 2019 opening, is now expected to open in late 2022.
