Warrington's Leader raised the Pyramid refurbishment budget urgently after 178 design changes and a builder's legal claim. Some payments may have been unlawful.
Warrington Borough Council has had to raise the budget for its Pyramid Arts Centre refurbishment in an urgent decision. The contract had gone through 178 changes, and the builder had started a legal claim for payment.
The council’s own report also says it paid invoices above the amount Cabinet had authorised. Those payments “may be considered to be unlawful”, it says.
The decision was taken by the Leader of the Council using urgency powers, then reported to Cabinet on 9 September as an urgent item. (Cabinet report, 9 September 2026)
How much more it will cost is not public
The report does not say how much the budget went up by, or what the contractor is claiming. Both figures are in Appendix 1, which the council has marked exempt. It cites two grounds: information about financial or business affairs, and legal advice.
What is public is the starting point. The council awarded the building contract to Gallaway Construction Limited on 14 August 2024, for £3,037,131. (Contracts Finder award notice) When Cabinet approved the contractor in July 2024, it allowed the price to vary by up to 10%. It also agreed a revised contingency for the project.
Culture Warrington, which runs the building, describes the whole scheme as a £4.9 million redevelopment paid for through Warrington’s Town Deal. The council’s report says the project was 100% funded by the Town Fund.
Why the cost went up
The report says the council knew the job would be difficult, given the age of the building and its listed building requirements. It then lists what went wrong:
- a fire risk assessment found significant issues across the whole building
- historic repairs had to be done first, including dry rot
- the design had to change once work started on site
- supply chain delays for materials
- an “unexpected number of instructions” to the contractor slowed the programme
- the contractor made extension of time claims, which pushed the finish date back
- extra work to help Culture Warrington install a lighting rig in the Exhibition Hall
In total there were 178 instructions, or required changes to the design and scope. The contract was a traditional JCT building contract. Under that form, the report says, “all risks resulting from any changes sat with the Council”.
A legal claim, and 11 days to answer it
On 21 August the contractor issued a Notice of Adjudication for payment for work done. Adjudication is a fast-track way of settling building contract disputes. The council had until 5pm on Tuesday 1 September to respond.
That is why the decision could not wait for a Cabinet meeting. The report says the council needed a larger approved budget so that it could pay what it owed lawfully and negotiate with the contractor “to avoid an adverse adjudication finding”.
The Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Mark Browne, and the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Wendy Johnson, were told about the decision. So were the Ministerial Envoys the Government has placed at the council.
The “unlawful” payments
The report’s legal section is the most serious part. It says the council “has incurred spend, and paid invoices, in excess of the original executive authority”.
It then says paying invoices above the level Cabinet authorised “may be considered to be unlawful and as such a Section 5A report to Cabinet is required”. A Section 5A report is the formal warning a council’s Monitoring Officer must issue when they believe the council has broken, or would break, the law.
The report is not consistent on this. One paragraph says the report is required. An earlier one says only that it will be “considered” once an internal audit is finished.
That audit is the other outcome. Internal Audit will review the council’s major contracts and projects to check that proper contract management and cost control are in place. The findings are due back to councillors in November.
Where the building is up to
The construction work is finished. Culture Warrington said on 27 August that the main contractor had left the site and the council had handed back the keys. Its own fit-out is now under way. There is still no reopening date.
Culture Warrington said the delays were partly down to the building’s complexity. It also said extra money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund had paid for work beyond the original scope. That included structural work in the Exhibition Hall so a full lighting and sound rig could be installed.
The council’s project page says the Pyramid closed to the public in September 2024. The box office has moved to Parr Hall.
What it means for you
- The Pyramid is still shut. Its box office has moved to Parr Hall, and this year’s pantomime is at Parr Hall too.
- The extra cost matters beyond the arts centre. The council is already under Government intervention and is looking for more than £51m of savings. The report does not say whether the Town Fund, the council or anyone else will pay for the increase.
- Watch for November. The internal audit of major contracts is due then, along with any decision on a formal Section 5A report. We will report both.
The Cabinet report was presented by Cllr Denis Matthews, Cabinet member for finance, assets and investments.
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