VolkerFitzpatrick must pay Blackpool Council more than \u00a31m to fix its faulty tram depot.<\/p>\n
The High Court has ruled that elements of the building, which VolkerFitzpatrick delivered under an \u00a318m design and build agreement between 2009 and 2011, are not fit for purpose. To cover the cost of replacements and repairs, the contractor has been ordered to pay \u00a31.1m. This is significantly less than the \u00a36m the council was seeking.<\/p>\n
Judge Stephen Davies said the amount awarded was lower because he accepted that the design life was 20-25 years, rather than the 50 years contended by the council. He also judged some components only required a partial replacement or repair rather than complete replacement, and threw out the claim that the cold formed components, which connect the cladding and rood panels to the frame, were faulty.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s claim focused on corrosion that affected parts of the structure which sits at the end of Blackpool\u2019s promenade and is subject to high winds, sea salt spray and wind driven sand. The council claimed it had not been properly designed for such an environment, but VolkerFitzpatrick contended that the structure had not been properly maintained and salt deposits had built up. Problems occurred soon after the depot was completed.<\/p>\n
\u00adPractical completion was certified on 16 May 2011, but by autumn of that year the list of defects included corrosion on the depot\u2019s doors. The doors were replaced in May 2012 at VolkerFitzpatrick\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n
On 10 January 2015 a section of the roof came loose during a storm, which VolkerFitzpatrick repaired at its own expense. Following this, the council inspected the roof and found corrosion that was worse than it should be after four years. In February the council wrote to the firm with its concerns.<\/p>\n
In July 2015, VolkerFitzpatrick proposed making limited repairs to the roof, but the council rejected this. It believed the contractor was not addressing potential long-term design and integrity issues with the roof. In August the council began an adjudication against VolkerFitzpatrick.<\/p>\n
VolkerFitzpatrick instructed engineering consultancy Sandberg to review the council\u2019s complaints. It concluded the roof was allowing moisture to enter which was causing corrosion that required remedial work. It also determined that soffit panels, which connected the roof overhand to the side of the building, would not last for 25 years and needed to be replaced. VolkerFitzpatrick and Sandberg drew up remedial work proposals.<\/p>\n
The council did not accept the proposals however. It once again believed they did not take account of the full range of issues and were not detailed enough. Further proposals were rejected in November and December 2016 along the same lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VolkerFitzpatrick must pay Blackpool Council more than \u00a31m to fix its faulty tram depot. The High Court has ruled that elements of the building, which VolkerFitzpatrick delivered under an \u00a318m design and build agreement between 2009 and 2011, are not fit for purpose. To cover the cost of replacements and repairs, the contractor has been …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26091,"featured_media":419991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[578,38309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-420016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal","category-volkerwessels","issue-19-june-2020"],"yoast_head":"\n