News / Court battle looms over Mareel
SHETLAND’S controversial cinema and music venue Mareel looks set to be the subject of a battle in the Court of Session.
Construction firm DITT and cultural development agency Shetland Arts are in the process of suing each other after the successful waterfront building went overbudget by almost £1.5 million.
The news comes the day after Shetland Islands Council narrowly voted through a £600,000 “bridging facility” to allow Mareel to be finally completed.
The decision, which followed a two hour debate, should release a further £562,000 pledged by the Scottish government through Creative Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the European Regional Development Fund.
Councillors were told the £12.2 million venue had cost an extra £1.46 million, after the original completion date of 5 January 2011 was overrun by almost 18 months.
They insisted on a forensic examination of the history of the construction project, and said there would be stringent conditions placed on the cash being paid out.
In its first public statement on the issue, Shetland Arts said on Thursday that the vast majority of the delay had been caused by DITT.
Previously DITT had accused Shetland Arts of slowing the project down by constantly changing the specification as work was going on.
Shetland Arts director Gwilym Gibbons said he welcomed the council investment and that it would become clear the independent contract administrator had laid responsibility for most of the delay at DITT’s door.
“We have been disappointed by the repeated premature claims over the past year by DITT Construction Ltd that the majority of delays have been due to Shetland Arts making changes and problems with the design of Mareel,” he said.
“We have always felt that their statements and suggestions were false and damaging.”
Gibbons said the contract administrator had decided that DITT were not due any payment for work carried out after 12 September 2011.
The building did not open until 25 August this year, and is still unfinished despite being extremely busy with more than 30,000 cinema tickets sold in the past four months.
Gibbons accused DITT of erecting a smokescreen to hide their own failings by blaming Shetland Arts for the delays.
He said Shetland Arts had kept their own counsel to avoid putting pressure on the contract administrator, but would now do all it could to recover their losses
“A period of over a year of delay has now been judged as solely due to the actions or inaction of the contractor,” he said.
“Throughout this time multiple warnings and contractual letters informed DITT management and directors of the concerns of the client.
“Regrettably the focus of DITT Construction Ltd appears to have been more on maximising profit from this community-funded project than simply expediently and diligently completing the task in hand.
“If DITT Construction Ltd had managed the project diligently and expediently Mareel would have been completed in late July 2011 as opposed to 24th August 2012 when practical completion was actually certified.”
Last week DITT commenced legal action against Shetland Arts in the Court of Session to claim payment for four months work which they say they are still owed.
Meanwhile Shetland Arts are preparing a counterclaim against DITT to claim money lost due to the delays.
DITT director Peter Tait responded in a statement on Thursday, saying: “We are disappointed that Mr Gibbons and the Shetland Arts Development Agency has resorted to making these wild, inaccurate and desperate claims.
“We refute the allegations made directly regarding us, but will not be responding on the details which they have chosen to include in their release. “These are subject to ongoing litigation.”
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