City chiefs ask to take lead in King's revamp decision

CITY chiefs have asked councillors for authority to press ahead with the appointment of a contractor to carry out refurbishment work on one of Edinburgh's most historic theatres.

The King's Theatre is set to undergo a 2.6 million refurbishment and a procurement process has been carried out for both the building works and also the design and installation of new seating.

Five contractors have been shortlisted for the main contract and have been invited to submit formal tenders.

In a report to the council's culture and leisure committee, director of city development Dave Anderson and acting director of corporate services David Jack have requested the authority to choose the best bid themselves, without committee approval.

They said: "A further report will be submitted to committee if any significant change to the project budget is required."