It could be almost a year before the Lanthorn community centre reopens it was claimed this week after it was revealed work on the site had descended into a shambles. Scheduled to reopen at the start of this year, work at the Livingston landmark is now six months behind and more than £1m over budget. RAAC roof panels were removed in the Autumn and the building left open to the elements over winter, causing major structural damage. What started as straight-forward removal and replacement of RAAC roofing has become a major refurbishment of the entire building - adding millions of pounds to the final bill. A firm awarded a £2m contract in October 2022 were scheduled to have finished the work by January. The Local Democracy Reporting Service has been told that the firm was given an additional £450,000 to accelerate the works, but finally had their contract terminated in April. A new £1m contract had been awarded to another firm to complete the refurbishment- with an indicative end date of 1 November.