A long-running fight over the final cost to the public of the Aberdeen Art Gallery revamp will be settled in court.
The city council has been at odds with building contractor McLaughlin and Harvey over the price of the delay-struck refurbishment for more than two years.
Extensive renovation of the Victorian venue began in 2015 and was expected to be completed by late 2017.
However, it was not until November 2019 that the public was readmitted to what went on to be named Scotland’s Best Building.
Officials at Aberdeen City Council said they would not comment while the dispute is with the courts.
City will have its day in court over delayed Aberdeen Art Gallery refurb
Now, a date has been set next month for a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Initially priced at £30 million, the final bill eventually reached at least £34.6m.
Just how much additional cost is under dispute is, as yet, unclear.
But given the expected hundreds of thousands of pounds of the court action to both sides, Town House insiders claim it would have to be worth millions.
Representatives for both Aberdeen City Council and McLaughlin and Harvey appeared in front of Lord Ericht on Tuesday.
A hearing day was set for six weeks later, on July 26 at the Court of Session.
Another date has been set for next week for both legal teams to discuss evidence, bring forward objections and raise any final issues.
The local authority has instructed law firm Morton Fraser, which previously steered the city through a judicial review of the Kingsford Stadium planning approval.
McLaughlin and Harvey has enlisted the services of Brodies.
Both sets of lawyers declined to comment on the proceedings when approached by The P&J.
Aberdeen City Council v McLaughlin and Harvey: A dispute bubbling away since 2019
Talks have broken down over the prolonged work at the art gallery, with discussions dragging on since May 2019.
From then, informal talks on the final price have escalated to now being taken to Scotland’s top civil court.
When priced at £30m, the cost was split three ways.
The council would put up £10m, with £10m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
There was an expectation public donations would cover the rest of the work to the A-listed 19th Century building.
There are still millions to be clawed back from the taxpayer-underwritten £10m fundraising target.
Some councillors fear the city could be saddled with the debt “for decades”.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government was criticised for not investing money into the project while putting up cash for Dundee’s V&A.
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