The Comet can exclusively reveal the cost of exactly how much extra cash the taxpayer will have to stump up in order for North Herts Museum to finally open.
A source close to the negotiations has confirmed that, in order for the building at 14/15 Brand Street to welcome in the public, a six-figure sum of £550,000 will need to be paid by North Herts District Council to bankers HTH Finance.
The council had previously insisted it would open the site with or without the front section of 14/15 Brand Street, which is effectively the entrance to the museum.
The project has been dogged with budget overspends, money difficulties and bitter wrangling from the outset after Hitchin Town Hall Ltd – the company formed to oversee the running of the building on the council’s behalf – was embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with the district council.
A statement on behalf of the council, HTH Ltd and HTH Finance Ltd reads: “There will be no further comment from any of the parties until negotiations have formally concluded.”
Construction work for the project began in September 2013, and Hitchin Town Hall opened in April last year.
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