New £30m police HQ is riddled with faulty water pipes (From Daily Echo)
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New £30m police HQ is riddled with faulty water pipes
8:48am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News
New £30m police HQ is riddled with faulty water pipes
IT is the £30m iconic police station that is a landmark on the city skyline.
Towering six storeys, offering panoramic views and with a state-of-the-art custody centre, it was billed as one of the most modern stations in the country when it opened for business 22 months ago.
But today the Daily Echo can reveal how Southampton’s police headquarters is riddled with leaking pipes that are going to force major reconstruction work at the Southern Road site.
For several months maintenance staff have been dealing with repeated complaints of water leaks on many floors of the station, which is home to hundreds of officers and police staff.
Lifts have also been put out of action due to flooding in the shafts while it is understood there have also been problems in the plush 36- room custody suite that was said to be among the best in the country.
Police chiefs say the entire cold water system will now have to be replaced due to “faults in the pipework” which will most likely see workers on several floors being moved out while the work is carried out.
The Daily Echo has been told that Kier, the contractors who built the station, have admitted full responsibility for the problems and will be picking up the bill – not Hampshire taxpayers.
However, the county’s new police and crime commissioner, Simon Hayes, in charge of the force’s finances, has not ruled out that legal action could also be taken against the firm, which has offices in Southampton, saying: “It depends on how they respond to the difficulties that we as their client have”.
The work will most likely mean that the custody suite will have to temporarily close to allow workers access to the pipes under the ground while inside the main building it is hoped they can carry out repairs through walls and ceilings rather than tearing up carpets and flooring.
A temporary cell block could therefore be set up on a piece of council-owned land adjoining the station, which is currently derelict, although no final decisions have yet been made.
The repair work inside the station will be phased on a floor-byfloor basis to cause as little disruption as possible but police chiefs are not saying if it will mean staff being relocated to buildings and stations they have moved out of such as Shirley, Lyndhurst and Hulse Road.
Mr Hayes told the Daily Echo: “The bottom line is that the contractors have taken full responsibility for what has gone wrong and they will paying for what has gone wrong in its entirety so there will be nothing taken from the public purse whatsoever.”
Describing the problems as “a mistake” he said it appeared that the pipe work was not done correctly and not tested out before the building was handed over to Hampshire Constabulary.
David Pryde, assistant chief constable of Hampshire police, said: “Southampton Central police station requires the cold water system to be replaced.
This is due to a fault with the pipe work but it poses no risk to the staff or users of this building.
“The timetable of work which will be covered by the building warranty is still to be agreed and a full consultation process will begin shortly to identify an appropriate way to minimise any potential disruption to day to day business.
“Remedial work is due to commence and is looking to be completed on a floor to floor basis.”
ACC Pryde added that “a whole range of options” were now being considered and they would be working to minimise disruption to staff.
Ian Burrell, Kier Construction senior contracts manager, added: “We confirm that there is a fault with the pipework but this does not present a risk to staff or end users of the building.
“Remedial works are to be carried out under warranty and a suitable programme is to be agreed with all interested parties to ensure the work is carried out with the minimum of disruption."
Comments(44)
Sovietobserver
says...
9:44am Sat 12 Jan 13
roofspace
says...
9:47am Sat 12 Jan 13
elvisimo
says...
9:50am Sat 12 Jan 13
roofspace wrote:No doubt you don't actually know
No doubt that Kier probably used the cheapest sub-contract labour they could find as opposed to the best to carry out the original work. As the saying goes - "If you pay peanuts you get monkeys......"
andysaints007
says...
10:32am Sat 12 Jan 13
roofspace wrote:You sound like someone with a grudge !!
No doubt that Kier probably used the cheapest sub-contract labour they could find as opposed to the best to carry out the original work. As the saying goes - "If you pay peanuts you get monkeys......"
Torchie1
says...
11:26am Sat 12 Jan 13
arthur dalyrimple wrote:If you slowly read through the article instead of drawing your conclusions from the headline, you will find that the construction company will underwrite the cost of all repairs. Are your little cheeks glowing warmly yet?
will be red faces at the lodge tonight , whos picking up the bill , freemasons ,don,t you just love em.
Outside of the Box
says...
11:41am Sat 12 Jan 13
Fieldbean
says...
11:54am Sat 12 Jan 13
freefinker wrote:Does this mean they are all having to outside for a leak?
.. police and leaks?? Tell Leveson.
SotonLad
says...
12:13pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Watch the video:
http://youtu.be/vnaJ
5dMlvg8
loosehead
says...
12:15pm Sat 12 Jan 13
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
SotonLad
says...
12:16pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Crane swing stunt Southampton UK
SotonLad
says...
12:16pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Crane swing stunt Southampton UK
Lone Ranger.
says...
1:01pm Sat 12 Jan 13
loosehead wrote:Who is blaming the last Tory council ??
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
.
Nothing in the article and nothing in posters comments.
.
Paranoid !!!
Cyber__Fug
says...
1:01pm Sat 12 Jan 13
SotonLad wrote:Nice one ! what a crazy fool - did he keep his job ?
Maybe this is the guy that should have been doing the pipe work - but instead was having fun!!
Watch the video:
http://youtu.be/vnaJ
5dMlvg8
sarfhamton
says...
1:04pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Bob_the_builder
says...
1:10pm Sat 12 Jan 13
I believe the mechanical company they used has since gone bust so they are left with little choice.
Good job Kier are such a good company otherwise the police would be stuffed!
Rockhopper
says...
1:15pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Bob_the_builder
says...
1:16pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Outside of the Box wrote:Or maybe they got the jobs because they are a good contractor?
Not a great advert for Keir's,,,,the last Tory council and leader seemed to love this company,,,given them the Sea City museum contract along with Eastpoint and a few major builds in the city,,,,hope they honour any faults which may occur on those buildings.
Clearly you have political issues!
Bob_the_builder
says...
1:18pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Rockhopper wrote:You obviously know what the problem with the pipework is, do tell?
Of course this is Kier's fault as they had overall responsibility for the construction of the building.
Dresnez
says...
1:20pm Sat 12 Jan 13
loosehead wrote:Oh for heaven's sake. That's the trouble when the team you bat for has a blame culture - you know how you love to play the blame game so assume other people do the same. Still if the cap fits.
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
Tory's always blame, its the fault of EU. the last Labour government, the welfare scroungers, bank holidays, the weather, pensioners and the list goes on.
It is never them, gosh how come we are doing so badly with such a perfect government.
The Tories go in all antagonistic with a good measure of arrogance and a failure to accept responsibility. No wonder former Tory voters like myself are looking at alternatives.
Dresnez
says...
1:20pm Sat 12 Jan 13
loosehead wrote:Oh for heaven's sake. That's the trouble when the team you bat for has a blame culture - you know how you love to play the blame game so assume other people do the same. Still if the cap fits.
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
Tory's always blame, its the fault of EU. the last Labour government, the welfare scroungers, bank holidays, the weather, pensioners and the list goes on.
It is never them, gosh how come we are doing so badly with such a perfect government.
The Tories go in all antagonistic with a good measure of arrogance and a failure to accept responsibility. No wonder former Tory voters like myself are looking at alternatives.
Outside of the Box
says...
1:20pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Bob_the_builder wrote:All I said was that they have been awarded other contracts from the last administration a I was they would honour any problems with those build if they happen,,,,looks like its happened again on a Keir build
Outside of the Box wrote:Or maybe they got the jobs because they are a good contractor?
Not a great advert for Keir's,,,,the last Tory council and leader seemed to love this company,,,given them the Sea City museum contract along with Eastpoint and a few major builds in the city,,,,hope they honour any faults which may occur on those buildings.
Clearly you have political issues!
http://www.dailyecho
.co.uk/news/10158331
.Residents_evacuated
_after_block_of_flat
s_flooded/#commentsL
istnd
hulla baloo
says...
1:21pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Bob_the_builder wrote:Being the lead contractor, they are responsible for the work of of the contractors they employ, so the buck stops with them.
Rockhopper wrote:You obviously know what the problem with the pipework is, do tell?
Of course this is Kier's fault as they had overall responsibility for the construction of the building.
Rockhopper
says...
1:24pm Sat 12 Jan 13
hulla baloo wrote:No Bob that is Kier's job not mine.
Bob_the_builder wrote:Being the lead contractor, they are responsible for the work of of the contractors they employ, so the buck stops with them.Rockhopper wrote: Of course this is Kier's fault as they had overall responsibility for the construction of the building.You obviously know what the problem with the pipework is, do tell?
Nicole23
says...
1:26pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Do they have double beds, carpets and flat screen tv.s in the cells now or something?
Funrun
says...
1:42pm Sat 12 Jan 13
I was on a job lately where the targets on the job where ridiculous but the management would not take every tradesman on sites advice it was not possible to do a good job in the time given. What happened trades working on top of each other rushing around. More workers employed that where not up to the job and as a result 3 months after the job was handed over there is an endless list of faults and snags.
Money is all these companies care about and the standards are not top of the list any more!
sass
says...
2:01pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Funrun wrote:Never time to do it right, always time to do it over!
Unfortunately the current culture of the building game is build it quick and as cheap as possible. The problem with this as Ive seen first hand, corners are cut. Targets are unrealistic and when you have such high penalty clauses you have little options when deadlines are looming. I was on a job lately where the targets on the job where ridiculous but the management would not take every tradesman on sites advice it was not possible to do a good job in the time given. What happened trades working on top of each other rushing around. More workers employed that where not up to the job and as a result 3 months after the job was handed over there is an endless list of faults and snags. Money is all these companies care about and the standards are not top of the list any more!
J.P.M
says...
3:04pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Torchie1 wrote:Touched a sore-spot torchy??
arthur dalyrimple wrote:If you slowly read through the article instead of drawing your conclusions from the headline, you will find that the construction company will underwrite the cost of all repairs. Are your little cheeks glowing warmly yet?
will be red faces at the lodge tonight , whos picking up the bill , freemasons ,don,t you just love em.
loosehead
says...
3:09pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Lone Ranger. wrote:I was responding to this post & pray tell me why the last council were mentioned if not trying to point the finger of blame at them?
loosehead wrote:Who is blaming the last Tory council ??
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
.
Nothing in the article and nothing in posters comments.
.
Paranoid !!!
Outside of the Box says...
11:41am Sat 12 Jan 13
Not a great advert for Keir's,,,,the last Tory council and leader seemed to love this company,,,given them the Sea City museum contract along with Eastpoint and a few major builds in the city,,,,hope they honour any faults which may occur on those buildings.
Paramjit Bahia
says...
3:13pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Lone Ranger. wrote:Lone Ranger, you are right. But I feel let down by you by expecting something different from close minded supporters of self confessed ‘nasty party’ with many warehouses full of skeletons?
loosehead wrote:Who is blaming the last Tory council ??
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
.
Nothing in the article and nothing in posters comments.
.
Paranoid !!!
Have you got any idea if Kier contributes to any political coffors?
housewife
says...
4:15pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Lone Ranger.
says...
5:13pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Paramjit Bahia wrote:As you know most big businesses support some political party or another and often attempt to conceal that fact.
Lone Ranger. wrote:Lone Ranger, you are right. But I feel let down by you by expecting something different from close minded supporters of self confessed ‘nasty party’ with many warehouses full of skeletons?
loosehead wrote:Who is blaming the last Tory council ??
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
.
Nothing in the article and nothing in posters comments.
.
Paranoid !!!
Have you got any idea if Kier contributes to any political coffors?
.
As regards Kier ... well i dont know, however, they appear to be well thought of by the previous Council .... allegedly
Lone Ranger.
says...
5:13pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Paramjit Bahia wrote:As you know most big businesses support some political party or another and often attempt to conceal that fact.
Lone Ranger. wrote:Lone Ranger, you are right. But I feel let down by you by expecting something different from close minded supporters of self confessed ‘nasty party’ with many warehouses full of skeletons?
loosehead wrote:Who is blaming the last Tory council ??
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
.
Nothing in the article and nothing in posters comments.
.
Paranoid !!!
Have you got any idea if Kier contributes to any political coffors?
.
As regards Kier ... well i dont know, however, they appear to be well thought of by the previous Council .... allegedly
Outside of the Box
says...
6:01pm Sat 12 Jan 13
loosehead wrote:I was merely pointing that the last council awarded some very large contracts to Keir, I also said that if their were problems such as this I hoped Keir would shoulder the blame,,,it appears that that another Keir built block of flats (behind the Mayflower) has had issue with water leak (as reported) I hope they take responsibility and us council tax payers do not have to fund repairs that's all, I couldn't say this administration because as far as I'm aware they have not contracted Keir's
Lone Ranger. wrote:I was responding to this post & pray tell me why the last council were mentioned if not trying to point the finger of blame at them?
loosehead wrote:Who is blaming the last Tory council ??
When a building is completed it is suppose to get inspected before a completion certificate is issued so why wasn't these problems found?
How on earth can anyone blame the last Tory council for this?
Why has it taken 22months to work out they had these problems?
.
Nothing in the article and nothing in posters comments.
.
Paranoid !!!
Outside of the Box says...
11:41am Sat 12 Jan 13
Not a great advert for Keir's,,,,the last Tory council and leader seemed to love this company,,,given them the Sea City museum contract along with Eastpoint and a few major builds in the city,,,,hope they honour any faults which may occur on those buildings.
bobbyboy
says...
6:51pm Sat 12 Jan 13
Looney Cleo
says...
8:15pm Sat 12 Jan 13
nedscrumpo
says...
8:10am Sun 13 Jan 13
loosehead
says...
9:01am Sun 13 Jan 13
Looney Cleo wrote:I asked if it was migrant workers on the flats & was called a bigot so be careful of what you say.
When this place was being built, some of the police top brass came to visit, they had to get in an interpreter because of all the foreign cheap labour on site, hardly an Englishmman on site. I'm not at all shocked at the headlines, half the foreign labour haven't even qualified in any of the skills required. These jobs should been given to local labour, not people who have turned up earned money then go back to theiir own country.
Do you know if the final inspection & tests were actually done?
Bob_the_builder
says...
10:07am Sun 13 Jan 13
Outside of the Box wrote:That is not a Kier job, Drew Smith I believe, get your facts straight.
Bob_the_builder wrote:All I said was that they have been awarded other contracts from the last administration a I was they would honour any problems with those build if they happen,,,,looks like its happened again on a Keir build http://www.dailyecho .co.uk/news/10158331 .Residents_evacuated _after_block_of_flat s_flooded/#commentsL istndOutside of the Box wrote: Not a great advert for Keir's,,,,the last Tory council and leader seemed to love this company,,,given them the Sea City museum contract along with Eastpoint and a few major builds in the city,,,,hope they honour any faults which may occur on those buildings.Or maybe they got the jobs because they are a good contractor? Clearly you have political issues!
Swissowned
says...
10:42am Sun 13 Jan 13
Because the newly elected PCC has gone to the echo with it to show that he's actually doing something to look good and show that he's "kicking ****" in the new roll and worth the cost of te new position to the tax payer.
It's a very subtle but shameful excercise at gaining public support. No doubt a few people who read this briefly thought "oh, that new guy has his finger on the pulse." The fact is this was probably all being sorted well before he was elected.
Look out for more publicity like this craftily disguised in story's. It'll become more prevalent (although probably less subtle) in about three years time when the post comes up for re-election.
mickey01
says...
3:27pm Sun 13 Jan 13
loosehead wrote:i heard that they also came over here so they could see their own doctor lol
Looney Cleo wrote:I asked if it was migrant workers on the flats & was called a bigot so be careful of what you say.
When this place was being built, some of the police top brass came to visit, they had to get in an interpreter because of all the foreign cheap labour on site, hardly an Englishmman on site. I'm not at all shocked at the headlines, half the foreign labour haven't even qualified in any of the skills required. These jobs should been given to local labour, not people who have turned up earned money then go back to theiir own country.
Do you know if the final inspection & tests were actually done?
loosehead
says...
5:41pm Sun 13 Jan 13
mickey01 wrote:My wifes Thai & got me to change Doctors as ours was Finnish does that make my wife Bigoted?
loosehead wrote:i heard that they also came over here so they could see their own doctor lol
Looney Cleo wrote:I asked if it was migrant workers on the flats & was called a bigot so be careful of what you say.
When this place was being built, some of the police top brass came to visit, they had to get in an interpreter because of all the foreign cheap labour on site, hardly an Englishmman on site. I'm not at all shocked at the headlines, half the foreign labour haven't even qualified in any of the skills required. These jobs should been given to local labour, not people who have turned up earned money then go back to theiir own country.
Do you know if the final inspection & tests were actually done?
There's No way this building should have passed it's final inspection if it's that bad
BIGGLM
says...
8:23am Mon 14 Jan 13
loosehead
says...
9:08am Mon 14 Jan 13
BIGGLM wrote:That's exactly what I was trying to ask about thank you
quite interesting to read all of the comments which are based on fantasy, The fact is this. Kier employed Balfour Beatty Engineering services to carry out the mechanical installation. They should have thoroughly flushd all of the pipework on completeion. They obviously did not and the chemicals that were left in the pipework have corroded the copper pipework leaving pinholes which leak. The Echo have never had a good word to say about this project, but leaving all of the political rubbish to one side, at least the builder has accepted responsibility and i expect will sort it.”
freefinker says...
9:27am Sat 12 Jan 13