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Swiss Cottage Library |
Library report stays secret
Details of probe into refurbishment errors are held back again
A CONFIDENTIAL report into mistakes made during the refurbishment of Swiss Cottage Library is a “dreary” document with little in it to get excited about, one of the few councillors to have read it has claimed.
For the first time, brief details of the mystery report, a dossier which became the subject of intense speculation because it was kept secret from public eyes, were made public on Monday night – but once again the release of the full findings was held back.
A short summary revealed that investigators had found valid claims for legal action against one of the companies involved and that the council was ultimately paid a £375,000 out-of-court settlement in compensation.
But lawyers insisted this week that the public must not see the full report, which details why the 2003 project at the popular Avenue Road library went wildly over budget and was hit by delays, because they fear it is “libellous”.
A libel case can be opened when allegations are made that cannot be substantiated or proved to be true in a court of law.
Consultants Gardiner and Theobald Fairway, who filed the report, were contacted by the New Journal yesterday (Wednesday) but did not reply to requests for comments on why the council would be worried about publishing a diligently carried out investigation conducted by their staff.
Liberal Democrat leisure chief Councillor Flick Rea said yesterday that she had read the report in the past week for the first time.
“It is a dreary document,” she said. “I think what has happened is that there were a lot of little things that went wrong. The council changed the specification, what they wanted. I think there was more asbestos to remove than first thought. There is nothing exciting in it.”
While she was in opposition, Cllr Rea regularly called for the report to be made public as the Labour-run council were attacked by opponents for the problems that besieged the library revamp.
Cllr Rea said: “I asked to look at it when I first took the job. They had to go to an archive to get it, but the lawyers are concerned about releasing it in full because there are names of companies and individuals.”
The delays at Swiss Cottage Library, which was designed by Basil Spence, became a major headache for former Labour councillor Phil Turner, who held the leisure brief at the time and was often barracked with the call “resign, resign” at council meetings.
Given the agitation, some councillors were surprised that some information seeped out in the written question and answer section of Monday’s full council meeting, a quiet arena for what was once one of Camden’s most contentious issues.
Cllr Rea, responding to Conservative councillor Dawn Somper, named John McAslan and Partners as the company at the centre of the council’s legal case.
“The claim was for damages for breach of contract and/or duty of care,” she said. “Other allegations noted in the Gardiner & Theobald Fairway Limited report were not made public and JMP Ltd have not been given an opportunity to answer them. The external solicitor appointed by the London Borough of Camden with respect to this has advised that these allegations are potentially libellous and the document should not be published.” |
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