Preston's Harris Museum opening delayed

The reopening of Preston’s Harris Museum has been delayed by a series of setbacks encountered during the ongoing renovation of the building.

It closed exactly two years ago and had initially been due to reopen sometime in 2024.

The hold-up is the result of several unexpected hurdles that have come to light only as work on the £16.2m “Harris Your Place” project has progressed.

Bosses have discovered more asbestos than had been anticipated, and the need for new boilers and replacement boiler flues.  It's understood fire safety work has also had to be carried out, with new risers being required.

Michael Conlon, chair of Conlon Construction, the lead contractor on the project, told the LDRS that it was not not unusual for “things to come up that you don’t expect” when working on a building as long-established as the 130-year-old Harris.

He said that no single issue had caused the timetable to slip, but rather “continual little things which have mounted and mounted”.

“As a team – ourselves, Preston City Council and the designers – we’ve been trying to make allowances for those and find savings in time on other aspects,” Michael explained.

“However, there’s only so much you can do…and we’ve come to the point where you have to take the decision to just say, ‘No, it’s not going to hit that date, it’s going to take longer.

“We and our supply chain are all very aware that the eyes of Preston are upon us.  It’s a rare privilege to act as custodians during the restoration of such an important building…and that’s why we want to make sure we do it properly.”

Michael added that the historic significance of the building meant that problems had to be dealt with in a more considered way than might have been the case with a more modern structure.

“When you’re working on a Grade I-listed building, everything that we’re doing and putting back in place has to be approved or meet with the regulations that are imposed upon us by Heritage England – and there are very good reasons for that. Otherwise, the built heritage of the country would go down the drain.

Meanwhile, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for community and cultural services, Peter Buckley, stressed that the Preston Harris Library service and IT Centre will remain open to the public at their temporary home in the Guild Hall for the full duration of the museum’s closure.

County Hall leases 40 percent of The Harris from the city council to house what is the largest of Lancashire’s libraries.