Other issues which attracted adverse media comment included the cost overrun and delayed opening of the Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre in 2016,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] the appointment of Hughes's then wife to a newly created senior management position,[35] the purchase and refurbishment of a house for the vice-chancellor by the university (costing the institution £750,000),[36][37][38][39] the expenses of some senior staff,[40][41][42] and the discrepancy between senior management salaries and remuneration for staff working on zero hour contracts.[43][44] In 2016, Hughes received a 7.5% pay rise and the university confirmed that this was the first increase that the vice-chancellor had received from the university's remuneration committee (of which Hughes himself was a member) since his appointment in 2010, although he would still have received an annual pay rise.[45]