Dundee's state-of-the-art £31 million Olympia swimming pool can be closed till at the very least the tip of 2022 so important repairs may be made lower than a decade into its existence.
A £4.5 million scheme of works was accredited by councillors final yr that can see swathes of the Olympia's inside, together with its iconic flumes, ripped out to repair problematic fixtures vulnerable to dropping lighting, audio system and home windows onto swimmers under.
Engineers recognized issues with lighting fixtures in September 2021, forcing the pool to shut in October.
The explanations for the closure weren't made public till a number of weeks later, and the affair has left council bosses embarrassed because the constructing is lower than a decade outdated.
A report introduced to councillors late final yr prompt that the Olympia will probably re-open on the finish of 2022 on the very earliest - even perhaps subsequent yr.
The brand new Olympia was opened by SNP MSP Shona Robison in September 2013 however has been plagued with issues ever since.
It was constructed by development big Balfour Beatty, which has since been handed a lot of different main Dundee constructing initiatives together with flood safety works and the town's £28m railway station entrance.
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Balfour Beatty was amongst six shortlisted contractors that made a suggestion to construct the brand new pool and got here in on the lowest value, round £4.6 million under the most costly bid.
Any financial savings made by choosing the decrease supply are set to be cancelled out by the £4.5m price of the the key refurbishment together with payments for earlier repairs.
Only a yr after it was opened councillors had been requested to spend £80,000 on "operational enhancements" to the Olympia when water seeped into its principal plant room.
And in 2018, elected members had been requested once more to spend almost £210,000 on new gentle fittings.
Members of the council's arms-length Leisure and Tradition physique had been additionally reported to have expressed issues concerning the constructing's well being after a 2017 report recognized "corrosion" issues in the primary pool space.
On Thursday, Dundee Metropolis Council's scrutiny committee will assessment what has gone unsuitable with the swimming pool undertaking - together with the botched roof substitute scheme that's costing taxpayers one other £4.5 million.
Labour councillor Richard McCready, who sits on the committee, mentioned a "sample" of poor constructing upkeep seems to be rising.
Earlier this month Dundee Dwell reported that £1.2 million was set to be spent on repairing heating programs within the council's HQ at Dundee Home - a constructing the authority would not personal after auctioning it off to a Canadian insurance coverage firm and leasing it again.
Cllr McCready mentioned: "I am hoping for full readability with full publicity of what is going on on within the council's constructing administration crew.
"There seems to be a sample rising of issues not being accomplished correctly and we have to make it possible for's not the case.
"Council officers must be correctly supported and if there is a systematic failure we have to cease that as quickly as potential.
"That is cash that should not must be spent on this.
"If issues had been accomplished to spec we have to know why the spec wasn't proper - or in the event that they weren't, we have to take critical motion to get the taxpayers of Dundee some sort of redress.
"At this level, I am unsure I've religion that any constructing accomplished not too long ago has been accomplished correctly, as a result of the proof suggests in any other case."
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