Dunard Concert Hall costs look set to rise – John McLellan

If costs have soared for the King’s Theatre refurbishment, it’s no surprise that Scottish Chamber Orchestra chief executive Gavin Reid has refused to speculate about the eventual cost of the SCO’s new Dunard Concert Hall home.

Work has just started on clearing the site behind Dundas House on St Andrew Square, and from an original estimate of around £45m when it was included in the Edinburgh City Region Deal, projected costs hit £75m in 2021. Office for National Statistics data shows that cost inflation for new construction averaged 5.5 per cent in the last half of 2021 and reached double figures by the end of April last year, so it’s a reasonable guess that the expected bill will now be around £90m.

But like the tram project, excavating in a historic site can produce unexpected surprises and one of the problems in this location is both a very constrained site behind a historic building and the solid rock beneath, which proved a challenge for the St James Quarter construction next door.

A sum of £100m might not cover it, so even with £25m from the City Deal and £35m from the Dunard Fund, the King’s Theatre’s £9m shortfall might be small beer by comparison. There is no point blaming the legal wrangle with St James for the cost rise because the resulting reduction in scale if anything made the scheme more deliverable.

No assumptions, says Mr Reid, who claims fund-raising is going well. Maybe so, but if the quality of Edinburgh buskers suddenly improves, you’ll know why.