Staffordshire History Centre project costs have soared by more than £1.5m in less than two years – but extra funding has been secured to allow work on the ambitious project to begin.

In summer 2021, Staffordshire County Council and William Salt Library Trust were celebrating landing a £3.96m windfall from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to make dreams of a new history centre a reality.

The total project cost was said to be £7.1m at the time and more than £3m had been raised through county council funding grants, donations from local organisations and friends and contributions from volunteers. But since then costs of materials and energy have gone up – and construction work due to start at the Eastgate Street site in November 2022 was delayed until additional external funding could be secured.

The project cost has now increased to £8.78m, a report presented to Tuesday's (February 28) Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Joint Archives Committee meeting said. But work to build the new centre has now started after an extra £1.289m external funding was secured to enable construction to begin.

The report said: "The Staffordshire History Centre was granted permission to start by the Heritage Fund in November 2021 at a time when the UK was emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Project Board Team were aware that managing costs in this climate would be challenging.

"In addition the impact of rising energy costs in 2022 and inflation contributed to a complex environment. To mitigate against rising costs the team took pre-emptive action.

The new history centre will be based on Eastgate Street, Stafford (Google).

"The total cost of the project is now £8,780,239 with a grant of £4,858,699 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The total match funding is £3,921,540 which includes Staffordshire County Council funding, grants from other organisations, donations from the friends of the services and in-kind contributions from volunteers."

A four-storey extension is planned for the existing Staffordshire Record Office on Eastgate Street. And a modern glazed link will be created between the office and the William Salt Library to form a new entrance and permanent exhibition space to showcase the county's collections.

Other facilities will include modern reading areas and research labs, as well as additional strong rooms to provide space for a further 55 years of collections. A new learning programme is being created for schools, alongside courses for adult learners, and there will also be a series of touring exhibitions and projects to bring the area's heritage to communities across the county.

The programme for completing construction of the centre has been delayed by around 10 months, the report to Tuesday's meeting said. This is due to "a more complex procurement process, reviewing project costs, and submitting additional grant requests."

Construction is now expected to be completed in summer 2024.

Victoria Wilson, the county council's cabinet member for communities and culture, said: "I thank the team for the invaluable work they have carried out.

"The William Salt Library was fantastic but this is going to be even better. Hopefully in autumn 2024 we will be cutting the ribbon and allowing local people in to have a look."

Protective fencing has now gone up on site. Councillor Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND), said: "It's great to see work on our fantastic new history centre get underway.

"We're all incredibly excited about the project. Not only will it provide a brand-new heritage attraction for the county, but it will bring together our amazing collections in one place."

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