June 29 2022

A design review of Dundee's scandal-hit Olympia Leisure centre has identified 39 issues to rectify in a £6.1m repair and upgrade plan.

Completed in 2013 for £31.2m the pool was forced to close in October last year after engineers identified a host of problems; including corroded light fixtures in danger of falling out and dangerous flumes.

Designed by the council's architectural services division and originally built by Balfour Beatty, the building has been closed to the public ever since.

Now Robertson Construction have been appointed to repair leaks, replace failing steelwork and improve environmental performance following a detailed review of its design and construction.

Explaining a significant rise in costs Mark Flynn convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee commented: “The prices that came back as part of the tender exercise, which reflect the current market in the context of Brexit, post-pandemic demand and the war in Ukraine, mean that the works will cost £1.6m more than has been identified in the Capital Plan."

The pool's ventilation system is also due to be overhauled as well as improved access for future maintenance with the centre set to reopen as 'soon as possible'.  

5 Comments

#1 Posted by Peter on 29 Jun 2022 at 10:50 AM

£1.6m or £6.1m clickbait?

#2 Posted by UR on 29 Jun 2022 at 11:40 AM

Total cost is £6.1m. £1.6m more than initially envisaged.

#3 Posted by Whispering Andy on 30 Jun 2022 at 13:31 PM

Whisper it.......but if it ends up anything less than £12M at handover I'll eat my hat.

Be interested to hear why the original contractor wasn't pulled to fix under latent defects. Sounds like design issues by the Council?

#4 Posted by Auntie Nairn on 1 Jul 2022 at 21:48 PM

#3 I would challenge anyone to find a swimming pool (one of the most hostile environments anyone could design) that has had virtually zero spent on preventative maintenance in the past decade that didn't then require a significant refurbishment

#5 Posted by Gordon McAulay on 19 Jul 2022 at 09:52 AM

Will there be a move towards green energy or a continued reliance on fossil fuels with the repair/rebuild of the Olympia

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