Barons Quay: Serious defects at Northwich retail park, MP says

An aluminium fin fell off a building during high winds

An MP has raised concerns over "serious defects" at a five-year-old shopping centre in Cheshire.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury said issues at Barons Quay in Northwich included an aluminium fin, which is part of the design, falling off the building during high winds.

The Labour MP has called on developer Balfour Beatty to fix the issues.

Balfour Beatty said it was taking the matter seriously and was working with the council on remedial works.

Mr Amesbury said there were also problems with glass panels and damage to the service road on Weaver Way.

"A vertical fin - part of the atheistic design - fell down in high winds, which could have resulted in a nasty injury if it had hit somebody," he said.

"Now nets have had to be put in place under the suspect glass and fins as a healthy and safety precaution, but it doesn't look great."

Mike Amesbury is calling on the developer Balfour Beatty to fix issues with the shopping centre

Mr Amesbury added: "My fear is these issues could deter not only shoppers from visiting Barons Quay but potential tenants from opening new units, depriving the town of valuable investment and employment opportunities."

Cheshire West and Chester Council, which gave the £80m town centre shopping centre an extra £1.3m of taxpayers' money to entice customers there in 2018, said it was aware of the issues.

"Whilst clearly disappointed the problems have occurred, the council is working productively with Balfour Beatty to rectify the issues and hope to have them resolved over the coming months," a spokesperson said.

"Meanwhile our officers aided by professional advisors have undertaken inspections of the site and taken action where necessary to ensure public safety."

The Barons Quay project was built on the site of abandoned salt mines, which were filled in with grout to prevent their collapse.

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