Engineers working on Banff Harbour have downed tools for a second time amid warnings that repairs may not be completed until next summer – and at more than double the original budget.
Lochshell Ltd was appointed to carry out the upgrade at the port earlier this year.
At that time, Aberdeenshire Council estimated it would cost £1.3 million and it was envisaged to be finished by now.
As well as fixing a dilapidated jetty that crumbled into the sea in 2017 following freak storms, the firm was tasked with strengthening the east pier.
The programme hit a brick wall this summer when the contractors discovered the work was far more complex than advertised.
Lochshell returned towards the end of July, as talks with the council continued, but have been unable to make much progress.
Staff have now walked away again citing impossible working conditions.
It will mean more uncertainty for harbour users, who previously raised fears that the port could suffer irreparable damage if the repairs aren’t finished by winter.
In a statement released exclusively to Aberdeen Journals, Lochshell claimed the scheme was “set to fail” as its engineers had never been provided with the correct blueprints.
In response, Aberdeenshire Council said it would be “inappropriate” to discuss such details, but added that bosses had requested “urgent talks” with the contractor to resolve the issues.
The firm said the harbour’s designer, noted civil engineer Thomas Telford, would be “quaking in his grave” at the current state of the 17th Century port.
What went wrong?
Lochshell says the ongoing wrangle revolves around a lack of construction drawings, which bosses claim Aberdeenshire Council has still not supplied them with seven months into the scheme.
The company alleges that the information provided when they took on the contract was deeply flawed, and that the true cost could end up being more than £2.6m.
In some parts of the site, they maintain that the level of solid rock was up to 2.5 metres thicker than had been detailed on drawings supplied by the local authority.
Meanwhile the thickness of the pier deck and walls was “found to be up to three times larger than as shown and detailed in the drawings”.
‘Alarm bells ringing’
The statement from Lochshell adds: “I am sure the famous civil engineer Thomas Telford, responsible for the Banff Harbour as one of jewels of the Scottish northern coastline, would be quaking in his grave at such damage to this historical listed structure without an appropriate design for repairs ready to be implemented.
“The contractor used leading survey techniques to present the site conditions, this should have been done by the client [Aberdeenshire Council] and these facts used to update the reality of the site conditions.
“The alarm bells are ringing already and then with the structure not repaired fully previously, or in advance of this contract, the voids in the structure allow significant volumes of water to enter the harbour and, even with substantial pumps running, make the working day challenging and restricted.”
Doomed to failure?
Lochshell added: “Without the appropriate set of construction drawings the contractor and project are set to fail.
“It is the responsibility of Aberdeenshire Council as client to design and detail what it is that should be built – not the contractor.
“At this rate the project is on track to finish well over double the budget and may finish during 2022, somewhere between Easter and summer.
“This takes no account of the Scottish winter and weather conditions on this exposed site.”
The Wick-based engineering firm says staff have been “unable to work for three months” due to the problems.
Until the works are complete, about 40 leisure boats are left trapped in the port.
Lochshell management say that changes to the Banff Harbour package “make the planning of the works more difficult” as staff are “working on an emerging basis and without clear instructions”.
The statement concluded: “An impossible scenario has emerged.”
However, bosses insist Lochshell remains committed to the project and wants to return to complete it “as soon as possible”.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “We would like to reassure all Banff Harbour users that our focus remains on completing these critical works as soon as possible.
“Whilst we are committed to completing this important project, it would not be appropriate to discuss contractual details publicly.
“We have requested urgent discussions with the contractor to find a way forward.”
One of the harbour users, Phil Hemsley, previously told us how he craned his yacht from the water earlier this year to keep it at Lossiemouth.
Speaking to us last month, he said: “Something wants doing before the winter gales come, that’s the most important thing.
“Otherwise, Banff Harbour could be finished.”
‘Our boats are under house arrest’: Banff Harbour users demand refunds amid repairs ‘debacle’