Councillors query soaring cost of depot project

Costs have risen from an original estimate of £6.8m to £8.1m, a meeting was told

Councillors have asked for proof they are not "getting shafted" after the cost of a council depot redevelopment in Grimsby rocketed by more than £1m.

Once completed, the Doughty Road depot will accommodate 300 North East Lincolnshire Council workers and the authority's fleet of bin lorries and other vehicles.

Work on the site is due to be completed later this year.

However, a meeting was told the project’s cost had ballooned from an original estimate of £6.8m in February 2020 to £8.1m.

Inflation had played a part, but a communities scrutiny panel meeting last week was told that "unexpected" issues had arisen.

The brownfield site, which has been used as a council depot for many years, was previously a railway yard with many old buildings remaining in situ.

'No faith in council'

A report said that during excavations for new garage buildings a large railway sleeper cast iron tanalising (wood treatment) tank was discovered.

The safe removal of the tank and contaminated waste had resulted in an unanticipated extra cost of £216,250.

Similarly, costs had risen on the construction of a new grounds maintenance building after it was found that piling was needed for the footings.

Including inflationary factors, the actual cost was £662,000 more than originally budgeted, the report stated.

Councillor Kevin Shutt said: “£662,000 for piling is virtually 10% of the original cost.

“A lot of people out there don’t have faith in the council," he said, adding that something "a bit more concrete" would help.

In response, a council officer said the original designs had to be reworked to include pilings “because of proximity to the live railway lines”.

Surveys and then marketing the contract would have delivered the price for the extra work, they said.

'Industrial legacy'

Councillor Henry Hudson, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “I’d like to see those quotes, just to know we’re not being robbed."

It could look like the council was “getting shafted sometimes” without the information to reassure," he added.

The council officer said: “On reflection, perhaps what we’ve learned is when you’re upgrading a site with that industrial legacy you can probably expect to find some issues along the way.”

Despite the additional costs, which also include £253,000 for resurfacing, ducting and work on the main office block, the project is expected to deliver savings for the council in the long-term.

The authority's cabinet agreed in February a revised budget up to £8.1m and a contingency allowance of just under £330,000, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.