Extra £3.4 million payment to contractors carrying out work on Town Hall

Hackney Town Hall

Hackney Town Hall

Health and safety improvement works to the Town Hall are millions over budget after an extra £3.4 million payment to contractors carrying out what is described as an “essential” project was rubber-stamped, it has emerged.

This means the scheme’s costs have risen to around £16 million, according to papers from a committee meeting held last month.

A briefing note from finance director Ian Williams states he used his delegated authority to authorise the extra payment before councillors could have their say.

The paper states this was done “due to the urgency of confirming adjustments/amendments to the building’s detailed design and therefore the expenditure on the project”.

Oddly, “changes in technology since works started” were cited as a factor which contributed to the need for “additional works” to be carried out that were not originally foreseen as forming part of the project.

The bulk of the money is going to contractor Geoffrey Osborne Ltd, but some of the funds are also going to West Heath Developments Ltd, the company that won the contract to carry out specialist marble repair works.

A Town Hall spokesperson said: “The additional costs are due to changes in the scope of the works which is not unusual for a historic building and a project of this size. These necessary changes will prevent further disruptive building works from taking place in the future.”

The money was coming from the capital budget, meaning funding for other services was not affected, they stressed.