Bristol Beacon's roof leaks just months after reopening following £132m renovation

  • Video shows water dripping from the ceiling at the Bristol Beacon

A concert hall that cost Bristol City Council £132 million to rebuild has a leaky roof less than eight months after it reopened.

People attending a performance on Friday 5 July said they noticed water dripping from the foyer ceiling at the Bristol Beacon.

The renovation work included restoring the old entrance foyer area with new staircases around the original Victorian architecture.

It was on the mezzanine level that Jen Smith and her friends saw the roof leaking after heavy rain.

Jen said: “In the interval, a friend sat down on a seat outside of the auditorium, I noticed something flash by her and realised there was water coming through the ceiling.

The refurbishment has cost around £132 million, around three times more than the original estimate. Credit: ITV News

“I think the Beacon knew it was leaking because there was a table and two chairs perfectly positioned either side of where the water was coming in.

"It looked like it was an attempt to disguise it. My friend went over to alert a member of the front-of-house team.

"I started filming it because it’s wild isn’t it? All that money, open [eight] months and water is coming in the roof.

"You expect it from old theatres, but not a newly refurbished top-of-the-range concert hall that’s just had £132 million spent on it,” she added.

The council said the venue was an essential cultural asset to the city. Credit: BPM Media

Bosses at the venue said the leak was small and did not last very long. They added work to fix it was started immediately.

Sarah Robertson, director of communications at Bristol Beacon: “After a period of heavy rain on Friday night, there was a minor leak in the flat roof above the Lantern foyer.

"Our teams responded promptly to the issue and it is being fixed.

"We are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of safety and comfort for everyone who visits the Beacon.”

When the Beacon reopened in November, the council said it is an “essential cultural asset to Bristol that has the potential to generate £13million to Bristol’s economy each year”.

Accounts show the cost of the work almost tripled from an original £48million to £132million – of which £84million has fallen on the city council, vastly more than the initial expectation of £10million – after the state of the Victorian building was deemed a “worst-case scenario”.

Bristol City Council has been approached for a comment.