Delayed Bristol Beacon report due ‘later this year’

An overdue report into ‘lessons learned’ during the costly refurbishment of Bristol Beacon concert hall will be published later this year, according to a council spokesperson. 

External auditors Grant Thornton had called on the council to issue a report "as soon as possible" before the completion of the Bristol Beacon project in November. But last summer, Bristol City Council admitted the full report would not be published until February 2024 – a deadline that has since passed.

Grant Thornton previously criticised the council for “underestimating the complexity and difficulty” of the build, which resulted in spiralling costs and a disagreement between the local authority and the trust that runs the building.

The initial budget for the building, which originally opened in 1867 and was previously known as Colston Hall, was £49m, of which £10m was due to come from Bristol City Council.

However, the final cost was £132m, including £83.9m from the council, £44m raised by music education charity Bristol Music Trust, and £22m from Arts Council England.

The venue is owned by the local authority but is run by Bristol Music Trust on a 30-year lease arrangement with no break clause.

Marvin Reese, former Mayor of Bristol who left office last week after his post was abolished, previously alluded to difficulties in the project run by Bristol City Council, saying it was a “journey that’s taken many twists and turns along the way".

“Challenges in the shape of a building filled with unknown complexities and hidden secrets, a global pandemic, national cost-of-living crisis and the pressure this is putting on the construction industry have all been navigated to get to this point,” said Reese.

In April 2023, the council announced it wished to "identify alternative operational models" for the venue to ensure it "receives value for money for its investment."

This prompted Arts Council England to seek "urgent" talks with the council, following which Bristol Music Trust remained at the helm of the building.

Council management had said that a review exercise into the project began at the end of June 2023 and was “designed to provide critical lessons learned and stimulate important insights".

In an update, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said, " A lessons-learned report is being prepared and will be available later this year [2024].”

Last week, it was announced that Bristol Beacon would receive almost £2m from the Department for Education to become the lead music hub for the West of England.

The Beacon, which already delivers a citywide music education programme to over 30,000 children and young people in Bristol, plans to spend £1,455,692 on coordinating music education in the local area and £478,183 on new musical instruments, equipment and technology for young people.