A leaking pool at Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline could cause spiralling maintenance costs for cash-strapped Fife Council.
The leisure centre, which underwent an £18 million refurbishment, has been beset with problems since reopening in November 2011.
On Monday a tile fell from the ceiling and landed in the training pool. It has also been revealed a pool leak is threatening to cause damage that could lead to long-term maintenance problems.
The Courier understands water leaking from the pool could cause structural deterioration. Tests are to be carried out to determine where the water is leaking from and discussions are ongoing to decide who is liable for the damage.
If contractor Barr Construction fails to shoulder the cost, it could leave the council with a financial headache.
Other snagging problems have been revealed at the centre, which has won multiple architectural awards. There are fears the fabric of the building could have suffered damage due to lack of ventilation.
The problems encountered at Carnegie Leisure Centre have led council leader Alex Rowley to question the way the refurbishment was handled. He reiterated his position that a new-build centre would have delivered better value for money.
He has written to Councillor Dave Dempsey, who chairs the environment, finance and corporate services scrutiny committee, asking that lessons be learned from the situation.
In the letter, he stated: “It has been suggested to me that when you open up an old building like this, you don’t know what you will find and this is part of the problem. There were many who spoke out against this approach and made the case for a new build state-of-the-art centre, but this was rejected by the then administration.
“I think we need to learn what has happened with this project and hence my request for your committee to investigate this.”
Mr Rowley has also raised concerns about the way contracts are awarded.
“What local firms are saying is that they are going in with a decent, honest tender and some of these companies are coming in with ridiculously low tenders. But it’s ending up costing the council even more money. Initially Barr came in with a tender for just over £10m, but they ended up being paid £17.7m.
“If people from the Dunfermline area visited the Michael Woods centre in Glenrothes to see what you get from a £21m new build, I think they would be disappointed with what they’ve ended up with.”
Councillor Helen Law, who is acting chairperson of Dunfermline Area Committee, said: “I’d like to express real concerns that we have now spent over £20m on the refurbishment.
“In Glenrothes, the £21.5m Michael Woods centre is a fabulous state-of-the-art facility and we’ve got something that seems to be not fit for purpose.
“I welcome the fact that Councillor Rowley has written to the scrutiny committee to have the contract looked at because we don’t know what we’ve got for our money.”
Andy MacLellan, sports partnership manager for Fife Council, said discussions were still ongoing with Barr Construction over remedial works.
“The majority of snagging works have been dealt with, but there are a small number of outstanding items which need to be addressed,” he said: “We are working together with the contractor and our technical advisers to identify the root cause of these problems, identify appropriate solutions and deliver these as quickly as possible and in a way which minimises the impact on customers.”