A report revealing a £40,000 spend on windows the wrong size for homes in Buckie has been condemned as a “monumental cock up.”
Councillors grilled senior officials about how 96 replacement windows that didn’t fit homes on Carnie Place were not dealt with for years.
They also questioned if the local authority had created a “culture” where employees are scared to escalate problems to officers.
The “ill-fitting” windows were kept in storage for several years once the council became aware the windows could not installed.
Council officers admitted a culture of fear could exist within the authority but insisted the windows were a “one-off” and work would continue on a “shift in culture”.
‘Why was this hidden from us?’
Councillors lined up to have their say on the window debacle, which has left homes on Carnie Place without replacement windows since 2022.
Sandy Keith called it a “monumental cock up” and asked why internal council meetings hadn’t caught the oversight sooner.
“It impacts upon the reputation of the council,” Councillor Keith added.
Deputy leader Donald Gatt called it an “embarrassing situation” for the authority.
It follows several other expensive mishaps from the council including the £206k spent on unused temporary classrooms in Aberlour and the ongoing battle over St Giles Centre business rates.
Tenants have not received ‘full and proper’ apology
Buckie councillor Sonya Warren asked if the tenants affected had received a “full and proper” apology.
Head of Housing and Property Services Edward Thomas said the council had not issued an apology but said officers were working towards “putting right” the situation with affected tenants.
A new contract for the Buckie windows has been issued and is “expected to be delivered in the next eight to 12 weeks”, according to Mr Thomas.
This will include other planned work like insulation improvements.
Does Moray Council have a ‘culture of fear’?
Elgin North councillor Jérémie Fernandes said the fact the mistake was hidden away “speaks of a culture within the council where people are afraid to raise issues.”
He asked if council staff “fear” bringing their concerns to officers and if they were “comfortable with the culture within the service.”
Responding to the concerns, Internal Audit Manager Dafydd Lewis said: “From my experience, kicking the old can down the road, it always comes back and bites you.
“Some services will pick up the phone and speak to us in Audit a lot sooner than other services.
“So whether that’s the work we need to do as an organisation and culture? I think the answer most probably is yes.”
Mr Thomas said Councillor Fernandes’ comments were “fair” and reading back through the report felt like “slow-motion” to him.
Building Services Manager Mike Rollo said: “We have flagged up issues. There is certainly not a hidden culture where we hide problems – we are open and honest.
“I’m confident we’ve learned a big lesson here and will not repeat it,” he added.
How did Moray Council order 96 windows that didn’t fit?
Mr Rollo said it was a “perfect storm” of post-covid recovery and staffing changes that contributed to the window oversight.
He also added the fact the windows were stored “not in sight” in a Keith depot away from their centralised Mosstodloch base did not help.
Mr Thomas blamed post-covid recovery and referenced the housing department was “wholesale decimated” and “re-employed from scratch” over that period.
He admitted the issue should have been escalated, adding: “That’s something that we will reflect on to ensure it does not recur.”
What will happen to the windows?
Council officers said they will not be able to recoup the full cost of the windows but will look into getting as much money back as possible.
Elgin South councillor Peter Bloomfield said he’d heard the windows had been offered to people for free on Facebook, but officers confirmed they still had all the windows in storage.
The council say they are working towards combining purchase and installation together in future projects to avoid materials getting lost in the system.
Building Services Manager Mike Rollo said it was a “one off” and a check of the council’s other building stock has come back clean.
Moray Council’s new chief executive Karen Greaves said she was working on a “shift in culture” within the council.
She added the “last thing I want” is for issues to be brought to her attention by councillors “that I should have been made aware of.”
How were the windows originally uncovered?
The windows were uncovered when housing committee chairwoman Amber Dunbar raised the alarm in October last year.
A total of 765 windows were ordered for properties across Moray back in 2021.
However, 96 of those windows meant for Carnie Place in Buckie arrived in the wrong size.
The windows were between 2-10cm larger than the window openings they were due to fit.
Contractors at the time said the windows could not be fitted without “structural changes to the properties at significant cost.”
The “ill-fitting” windows have cost the council £40,412.
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