My gratefulness to regular reader Ian J to detach a history in today's Building Design website that claims Kent County Council is going ahead with a law suit against the architects who brought you Turnip Mark 1.If you memory, the T1 'offshore' was ditched in 2006 after projected costs soared to £50m, to be substituted by the current project 'onshore', a mere snip in £17.5m. KCC lost around £6m of your taxpayer mazoulians in the process and now want apparently some of it back. All we need is now three aborted attempts more and we will have our very own T5!
Meantime, I hear the Agency of the South East of the Development of England (SEEDA), which is co-funding the Turnip to tune of £4m, am making noises grumbling on the time length it is taking to getting anything off the ground. The word is that if they do not see the progress soon they've threatened to spend their (our) money in something else!
Estale to read the history of KCC in the Web site of BD here
5 comments:
Interesting they are going for the architects rather than main contractors. The contractors seemed to be happy to take the money in bucket loads whilst knowing it was a non starter.
The main problem with the first design was the dumb location in the water, attached to the pier with some gaffa tape. I quite liked the Tefal toaster look of it. When they changed its location to terra firma why could they not build the original design there? . They , KCC went ahead and commissioned a new design from a new architect so racked up the costs themselves so should they sue themselves for being too stupid to se a way out of a jam of their own making.
The new design looks pretty dull for a landmark building, and its layout with its back to Margate ,resolutely says", I want nothing to do with this town " hang on maybe they did get it right after all.
I have sent the architects a lot of information that scuppers KKC's attempt. Why!! As they (KCC) ignored any reasonable dialogue with the locals who were knowledgeable.
Also there is a total failure by KCC in its duty of care and Due Diligence...also does this not leave the potential for litigation by the architects against the internal KCC audit system?
KCC own accounting as reported in November 2006 will prevent them from reclaiming the whole 6 mill.
to quote the BBC :-
The write-off for the Turner Contemporary was revealed in a written answer to Kent County Council (KCC) opposition councillor, Clive Hart.
"What we could have done with that £7m just breaks my heart," he said.
But KCC cabinet member Mike Hill said £4.3m had been carried forward to a new project to build the gallery on land.
"Auditors have agreed that £4.3m can be considered as a contribution to the project," he said.
honestly, i could see this coming a mile off and wrote to the tate telling them that this project would be a disastor if KCC or Thanet council had any control over it. Predictibly little empires of jobs for freinds were set up, lots of wine parties were had and no doubt lots of holidays to the indian ocean. So whats new. KCC wouldn't know what art was if they were put in a glass case and displayed under the title of 'the impossibility of creativity in the minds of corrupt councilors'. I hope they all die screaming.
The money lost could have rejuvinated the High st for staters, and given to new business to establish there. AND alot more people would have visited Margate. At The monment we have have ever increasing list of closed shops filled with art that is viewed by how many, excluding the school trip numbers? Roadworks in the Old town area is seriously effecting businesses. It is time our councils admitted they have made a mess of our towns and have wasted vast amounts of money, and have so far not stopped the rot to our town centres.
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