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More buildings hit by Scottish school collapse defects

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Construction faults have been found at 19 more public buildings across Edinburgh in the wake of a wall collapse at Oxgangs Primary School in the city.

A report from watchdogs at the Accounts Commission confirms the scale of problems unearthed by investigatiors since the school wall failure.

Nine tonnes of masonry came crashing down in 2016 at Oxgangs due to missing wall header ties.

Seventeen schools were closed following the incident.

Now it has emerged that further problems have been found at schools, libraries, community centres and care homes across the city.

The Accounts Commission report states: “At the end of January 2018, of the 154 properties where assessments had been completed, 19 properties had been identified as having issues similar to those identified at Oxgangs School.

“Remedial work to address the defects identified on these buildings (which include schools, libraries, community centres and care homes) is ongoing.”

The Commission is now calling on all councils to improve their checks on construction work.

It said: “The report emphasises the importance of all councils undertaking regular, comprehensive structural risk assessments and inspections on public buildings to ensure the safety of service users.

“Where a council employs a company to provide construction services, it’s vital that it puts in place appropriate checks and controls.”

Graham Sharp, Chair, Accounts Commission said: “While reduced resources mean councils must make difficult decisions about service provision, they should have an appropriate level of expertise to deliver and safely maintain buildings.

“People must have confidence in the safety and integrity of public buildings.”

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Carillion HQ for sale at £3m

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The Wolverhampton headquarters of Carillion has been put up for sale with a price tag of £3m.

Carillion House still accommodates head office staff nearly three months after the group collapsed into liquidation in January.

At the same time, the Official Receiver revealed another 97 Carillion staff were made redundant taking total job losses to more than 1,800.

A spokesperson for the Official Receiver said: “More than half (54%) the pre-liquidation workforce – close to 10,000 employees – have now been found secure ongoing employment so far through the liquidation.

“A further 873 jobs have been saved with employees transferring to new suppliers who have picked up contracts that Carillion had been delivering.

More than 5,400 staff are still on the payroll to enable Carillion to deliver the remaining services it is providing for public and private sector customers until decisions are taken to transfer or cease these contracts

Noel Muscott of Bulleys said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire an eye-catching office block in a prominent location that will soon benefit from proximity to the Westside leisure development.

“The offices were comprehensively refurbished in 2015 and provide open plan accommodation that would suit occupation as a whole, on a floor by floor or part-floor basis.”

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