Renfrewshire Council agrees to pay extra £1m to contractor Rok

A revamp of a Leisure Centre in Paisley, Scotland, by Rok has overrun its budget by almost £1m.

An investigation into the added costs was carried out by Renfrewshire Council, after the contractor Rok claimed £1.735m was needed for additional construction work, and added time for builders to complete the project. The council eventually agreed to pay £994,057.38.

Council chief executive David Martin told the Paisley Daily Express that contract management arrangements would be looked at “to ensure lessons were learned”.

Overspending was caused by the discovery that items were missing from the original tender, including lockers, handrails and railings. Another £50,000 had to be spent on changes to mechanical and electrical works which were not cost controlled.

Work at the centre started in November 2006 and should have been completed in February.

External cost consultants had been brought in by Renfrewshire Council to control the price of the project, with everything reportedly on target until late last year. However, construction continued until June.