Tilbury Douglas has been appointed by Wigan Council to the pre-construction phase of the restoration of Grade II*-listed Haigh Hall in Greater Manchester, with the contractor now working on design development, surveys, programme planning and construction methodology ahead of the main works. The appointment should not be read as a £45m construction-contract award. That figure relates to the wider restoration programme, while the value of Tilbury Douglas’s current appointment has not been disclosed. Wigan Council is backing the scheme with more than £25m alongside £20m of government regeneration funding.
Illustration of Haigh Hall in Wigan, where Tilbury Douglas has been appointed to the pre-construction phase of the restoration project. Image: London Construction Magazine.
Tilbury Douglas starts pre-construction work
Under the appointment, Tilbury Douglas will work with Wigan Council and the existing specialist design team to develop the detailed plans for Haigh Hall’s internal restoration. The scope also covers associated landscaping, improvements to the car park and a new energy centre. According to the Tilbury Douglas announcement, the current phase includes further surveys and planning work as well as development of the programme and construction approach for the historic building. That wording is important to the procurement position. Tilbury Douglas has been brought into the project before the main restoration works, but neither the contractor nor Wigan Council has announced that a main construction contract has been awarded. No second-stage contract value, pre-construction fee or confirmed route into the main works has been published.
Restoration covers the Hall and wider site works
The appointment covers the next phase of work on Haigh Hall itself together with associated external elements. Wigan Council’s plans include the internal restoration of the listed building alongside landscaping, car-park works and construction of the new energy centre. For a Grade II*-listed building, the pre-construction work gives the project team the opportunity to develop the design against the findings of further surveys and establish how the restoration will be sequenced before the principal construction phase begins. The contractor’s role at this stage is therefore centred on buildability, planning and methodology rather than evidence that the full restoration contract has already been placed. Wigan Council’s appointment announcement similarly describes the work as a pre-construction phase and says the project team will continue to develop the design and programme before the main restoration works.
£45m budget is not Tilbury Douglas contract value
The distinction between the project budget and the contractor’s appointment is central to the current position. The wider Haigh Hall restoration is estimated at around £45m, supported by £20m of government regeneration funding and more than £25m committed by Wigan Council. Those figures describe the funding and estimated cost of the wider restoration programme. They do not establish the value of Tilbury Douglas’s pre-construction appointment and should not be treated as the value of a Tilbury Douglas main-works contract. The next procurement point will be whether the current pre-construction work leads to a formal appointment for the main restoration phase. Neither an anticipated main-works award date nor any contractual entitlement for Tilbury Douglas to proceed into construction has yet been publicly confirmed.
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