Dundee council refuses to say if Olympia builders will pay compensation

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Dundee City Council legal advisors are refusing to say whether they can extract any compensation from the builders behind Dundee's crumbling Olympia leisure complex.The complex was first opened to the public in June 2013 after it was constructed by building firm Mansell, owned by Balfour Beatty.

A recess sub-committee on Wednesday green-lit more than £6.1 million of public funds to spend on essential repairs at the centre, located in the heart of the city.Dundee Live has previously revealed that the original £4.5m cost of repairs has cancelled out any savings the local authority made by choosing the cheapest possible building contract.Although the repairs will proceed, the project has also been remitted for scrutiny to clearly identify why the repairs have jumped in cost.

Labour councillor Kevin Keenan had asked: “What is the legal position to know about the case against the developer?”Roger Mennie, head of democratic and legal services at the council, said: “I have separately given to all members of the council…I’m not in a position to explain what this (legal) advice was.”This was picked up by Georgia Cruickshank, another Labour councillor, who queried the response.

She asked: “Can the legal officer confirm if any costs may be obtained from the contractor?”Mennie again referred to the previous legal basis.