A series of defects discovered at the Dunes Splash World leisure centre in Southport has seen Sefton Council awarded £2.2million after it lodged a claim against the scheme’s original developer.
The facility has been closed since 2019 due to what the council says were “significant Health and Safety concerns”.
The local authority is now working with an external law firm to recover the money owed after the contractor failed to pay within the seven days it was ordered to do so.
Splash World was due to reopen later this year, but that date may now be pushed back after a painting sub-contractor working on the substantial repair scheme went into liquidation.
In an Update report being presented to Sefton Council next Tuesday (22nd February), Health and Wellbeing Cabinet Member, Cllr Ian Moncur, said: “The legal aspects of a latent defects claim against the original developer have been considered by an Adjudicator and his decision was published in early January.
“This decision came out in our favour on all aspects of claim, and we have been awarded approximately £2.2m in settlement.
“The payment, in accordance with the findings, should have been made within seven days of the decision.
“Unfortunately, this has not occurred, and we are currently working with our external legal team to move forward with enforcement through the courts.”
Work on the fun, all-weather water park is continuing, with local residents and visitors looking forward to its reopening – which may now be delayed for a further few weeks.
The attraction offers features including fast flumes and river rides, a relaxing bubble spa and a toddler area and water play area including tipping buckets and fountains. There’s a poolside café as well for families to enjoy.
In his report, Cllr Moncur said: “Dunes Splash World work on site had been progressing in accordance with the agreed programme up to the Christmas break.
“A painting subcontractor went into liquidation shortly after and this has delayed commencement of the painting works.
“The main contractor has managed to quickly find and appoint an alternative company to undertake works. The new contractor is due to start on site this week.
“This unexpected event has resulted in the programme being delayed by three weeks.
“The main contractor is currently looking at the situation with a view to minimising the impact over the remaining programme.
“This could result in the planned completion date being pushed back by a number of weeks.
“The situation is being monitored through regular site progress meetings and further updates will be provided.”
Splash World was closed in late 2019, as Sefton Council looks set to spend nearly £1.4million on essential repairs. It had hoped to reopen the facility in late 2022.
The work was initially due to be completed with Splash World opened in time for the school summer holidays in 2020. But further investigations discovered more areas of concern.
A tender process was subsequently carried out, with the lowest tender coming in at a total of £1,388,874.12.
Council officers warned however that this only represents the essential repair bill.
They added that Splash World, which was built in 2007, is now 15 years old and will need more money spending as old as “some areas are starting to fail due to wear and tear etc and the entire facility would benefit from a more comprehensive refurbishment programme”.
On top of this is the lack of income which Sefton would have enjoyed from the facility over the three years of its closure.
Defects discovered included a failure in the steel frame coating (paint) system, along with concrete repairs to failed areas of the flume tower staircase. The council said that the tiling of the pool wall and floor surfaces also needed replacement due it becoming separated from its backing.
In his report last year, Sefton Council Executive Director Corporate Resources and Customer services Stephan Van Arendsen said: “Dunes Splash World opened to the public in 2007, following a major redevelopment programme which included the provision of a new water activity centre.
“This has been a major and successful attraction for visitors to the area for many years.
“For several years, the council has been pursuing the developer on an informal basis initially, through the contract terms and more recently, through litigation on a range of issues stemming from latent defects.”
The facility was closed after the alarm was raised over safety.
Stephan Van Arendsen said: “In late 2019 the facility closed due to significant Health and Safety concerns stemming from failure in the pool tile surfaces.
“This has resulted in a considerable loss of income for the council, even after considering the impact of Covid.”
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