Lewisham library refurb costs kept from public as bill for town centre rises to over £30m
The revised costs for the repeated delays to Lewisham library are being treated as confidential, while the the council’s contribution to the town centre project has increased from £5m to £11m.
Lewisham council has admitted that there will be a further increase of £4.5m for improving Lewisham High Street, with additional expenditure needed for Lewisham library, installing the all-weather market canopy and public realm improvements.
Lewisham secured £19.1m in government levelling up funding for the works back in 2022, but the rising costs of the programme will have to picked up by the council.
The recent increase is confirmed in a budget update that is going for consideration by mayor and cabinet today 8 October.
The initial increase in the cost of the Lewisham Town Centre Improvement Programme (LTCIP) was set out in February 2026 when it was confirmed that the estimated cost of the market canopy had more than doubled, increasing from £1.3m to £2.9m.
This led to the overall budget for the town centre works increasing from approximately £24m in 2022 to £25.9m.
The further increase in the overall envelope of costs for the works comes as no surprise, the council told Salamander they expected costs to rise after the further delays in the library refurbishment.
Cost of library overrun treated as confidential
This week’s report to mayor and cabinet states that the updated programme has now risen in cost to £30.48m, although curiously gives no specific figures as to how much of the increase is due to the huge overrun in completing the library.
It is suggested that the increase in cost for the library might be significant, but hard figures are lacking: “The remedial works are extensive and the resulting programme extension will keep the contractor onsite for almost an additional year, creating significant additional works and prolongation costs.
"The detailed cost implications are set out in Part 2.”
The detailed cost implications for each aspect of town centre improvements have been held back and restricted to confidential papers that are only seen by councillors and discussed in private.
The absence of transparency on the increased cost of the library refurbishment is disappointing.
As recently as last month Hau-Yu Tam, councillor and cabinet member with responsibilities for libraries appeared to promise there would be full transparency, responding to a public question: “The full updated cost estimate, together with the reasons for the increase and the financial implications, will be set out in a future report to Mayor and Cabinet.”
The latest update report relies on generalities in explaining the overall increases in the high street improvements: “Previous programme reporting identified general inflation, construction-cost and labour pressures and the impact of a longer delivery period ..
"These factors provide relevant context but do not explain the whole increase, which also reflects procurement outcomes, design development, delays and physical conditions encountered in the Market and Library.”
£10.7m contract to Blue Garage
While a breakdown of the rise in construction costs is lacking, the update report provides the council's operating costs for running the library’s "business and cultural hub".
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It has awarded the contract for 5 years with the option to extend up to a further 5 years to Blue Garage, a recently incorporated firm which launched an innovation hub in Engate Street, supported by the council.
The value of the full contract over 10 years is £10,704,000.
Blue garage is a limited company registered in Bristol which has not yet submitted annual accounts. No details of the scope of this high-value contract have been made public.
The report confirms that only one other tender was received.
The report also provides an interesting insight into some of the challenges in progressing the market and high street improvements, which have included “exceptionally deep concrete, uncharted utilities and water infrastructure, and a previously uncharted underground structure associated with the wartime use of the site.”
The passing mention of a wartime structure begs many more questions, being the site of a V1 flying-bomb attack which killed 51 shoppers and traders in July 1944.
Project milestones still to be reached
The market canopy is now progressing in its installation and is expected to be completed by March 2027.
In relation to the restoration of the clocktower, an earlier update report for mayor and cabinet in February 2026 claimed: “The Clocktower restoration, which will preserve a local landmark and enhance the northern gateway to the market, is planned to start in spring/summer 2026, earlier than initially scheduled”.
This confident prediction failed to materialise and last month, in answer to a public question, Dan Dream, the cabinet member for inclusive regeneration, planning and housing delivery, said: “The restoration of Lewisham Clock Tower is scheduled to be completed by mid-March [2027] ..
"While the structure has deteriorated over time, a full survey has been completed and the current expectation is that the project will be delivered within the approved budget.”
However, this week’s report says little about the restoration of the clocktower, it has only a single reference to the clocktower and fails to provide any specific dates for its restoration being completed.
It merely states: “Remaining public-realm items, including the Active Travel Hubs and Clocktower restoration, will be progressed subject to the final agreed scope, affordability and relevant third-party approvals.”
Council's lessons learnt
Despite the delays and increased cost of the programme to refurbish Lewisham library, the market and the high street, the Green administration says important lessons can be learnt for the future.
The report looks ahead to future retrofit projects, such as now being proposed for Catford shopping centre and Milford Towers: “Completing the Library provides an important early example of the administration’s retrofit-first ambitions and practical learning for future retrofit projects, including the need for appropriate early investigation, risk allowances and change control.”
It's a concern that these basics of programme management need to be learnt.
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