Dumfries Super School Building Contractor Issues Statement After Ceiling Collapse

After a Facebook post that was posted by a concerned parent from Dumfries sharing images of a collapsed ceiling at the new multi million pound North West Community Campus which is being built at Lochside, Dumfries went viral with hundreds of concerned local people commenting today July the 25th 2018, Dumfries and Galloway Council and the construction company contracted to build the school ‘ GRAHAM’ have both issued statements.

There have been hundreds of comments on the original post that has now gone viral.

Mark McMinn posted on Facebook “I’m the last person to be an apologist for D & G Council and often criticise them, but this isn’t a problem unique to our area. The link to the Edinburgh schools project, our own experience with DGOne and now this must raise serious questions about how PPP contracts are preferred, awarded and constructed – it seems to be one disaster after another, with very little accountability and rising costs to the taxpayers. This situation really needs to be looked at”

Vincent Huijing commented on Facebook  “This doesn’t fill me with confidence in these new plans.”

Lynn Barbour Commented on the Facebook post “Deary deary me another disaster thank gawd no kids were in there.”

A Spokes person for GRAHAM construction stated “During standard testing toward the completion stage of construction a leak occurred within the staffroom area. This testing was carried out in the evening and in a controlled environment supervised by experienced members of GRAHAM’s staff. The matter was identified and isolated and acted upon immediately. The weight of water over a period of time saturated ceiling tiles and caused sagging and superficial damage. GRAHAM took the decision to remove the ceiling completely in this area to ensure full and robust rectification works could be undertaken.

GRAHAM takes both health and safety; and quality on all of our sites very seriously. That is why we carry out robust testing and commissioning prior to handover. It is not uncommon for issues to be identified during testing so that we can rectify them. We can confirm that full quality assurance procedures have been adhered to on this project. An investigation has been instructed to ensure full understanding of the cause of the leak.

The North West Community Campus will be completed as per the agreed programme with the Authority, creating state of the art facilities of a high quality for North West Dumfries and GRAHAM are proud in delivering this project.”

Dumfries and Galloway Council Said:

“Dumfries and Galloway Council were informed that there had been a leakage during testing. GRAHAM have given us their assurance regarding the issue being fully rectified and all necessary checks and due diligence being carried out.

At the moment, the facility is still under the responsibility of GRAHAM. The Council will not take ownership of the building until all construction works have been completed to the satisfaction of the Council.

North West Community Campus will be a state of the art, modern learning environment for use by pupils and the community. We look forward to opening our doors to welcome pupils when the term starts on 21 August.”