CORNWALL Council’s Cabinet has agreed to provide an extra £4.45million towards the new historic archive centre Kresen Kernow.

The new centre, which will be the home for the Cornwall Records Office and Cornish Studies Library, is currently being built on the former brewery site in Redruth.

Work started on the £16.6m project in November 2016 and the building is due to be completed in December but will not open to the public until next summer.

The project was granted £11.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund which was the largest grant ever made for an archive centre, with Cornwall Council providing the other £4.9m.

Now it has been revealed that significant problems on the site have meant that the council has to provide an additional £4.5m for the project.

Julian German, Cabinet member for resources, told a Cabinet meeting this morning that the project would generate £40m of private sector investment and deliver 150 new homes as well as creating 200 new jobs.

Councillors were told the site was always “challenging” and that the problems which had occurred could not have been foreseen.

Cllr German said the increase in funds needed was due to additional construction costs with specialist work needed for the chimneys on the site and other elements.

He said that Kresen Kernow “will perform a very important economic regeneration role” not just for Redruth but for the whole of Cornwall.

Independent councillor Bert Biscoe “strongly urged” the Cabinet to approve the extra funding for Kresen Kernow.

He said that nobody could be certain about about “what did lie or didn’t lie underneath” it.

Cllr Biscoe said that in the circumstances £4m was a “relatively modest sum” to spend on the scheme.

He added: “It will enable us to sell a branded image of Cornwall that not only understands and treasures its past but presents it to the world in a very modern way.”

Council leader Adam Paynter said the council would prefer not to have to spend additional money on the project but said it was “positive for Cornwall”.

The Cabinet agreed to the additional funding for Kresen Kernow which will come from the council’s economic development match fund reserve.