The future of a flood defence scheme in Worcestershire hangs in the balance after troubled contractor Alun Griffiths pulled out of the project.<\/p>\n
The Welsh civils firm, part of the Tarmac group, had been lined up to build the scheme at Severn Stoke, which has already been hit by significant delays.<\/p>\n
But the \u00a31.8m project has again been put on hold following the withdrawal of Alun Griffiths, which is in the middle of a restructure process.<\/p>\n
The firm announced last week that it was consulting staff<\/a> on an \u201curgent requirement\u201d to restructure and resize the business, which posted a fifth consecutive annual pre-tax loss<\/a> in its latest accounts.<\/p>\n A company spokesperson said it was still supporting Worcestershire County Council with a \u201ddesign and buildability review of the Severn Stoke flood defence scheme\u201d.<\/p>\n But the council, which is working with the Environment Agency (EA) to deliver the Severn Stoke scheme, said the withdrawal of Alun Griffiths as a construction contractor had left it scrambling for a replacement.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, we\u2019ve been informed that Tarmac has withdrawn its subsidiary company, Alun Griffiths Contractors, from being available to construct the Environment Agency\u2019s Severn Stoke flood risk management scheme as part of wider restructuring,\u201d said Emma Stokes, cabinet member for the environment at the council.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is particularly disappointing for Worcestershire County Council, having been given explicit assurances late last year that the contractor would be able to take on the construction work, should the scheme be assessed by the Environment Agency as being affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n The council was \u201curgently trying to secure an alternative contractor\u201d for the scheme, Stokes said.<\/p>\n In the meantime, she added, the council will continue to work with the EA to continue completion of the scheme\u2019s design, assessment of the material on site, materials planning, the discharge of planning conditions and preparation for a seamless handover to any new contractor.<\/p>\n Doubts over the viability of the scheme were raised at a meeting of Worcestershire County Council last November, when it confirmed it had been asked by the EA to look at commissioning a different contractor to deliver the scheme.<\/p>\n The agency had already assessed a bid from its own contractor, Jackson, as unaffordable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have explored delivery options with our frameworks but have not been able to find an economically viable delivery option,\u201d an EA spokesperson said.<\/p>\n At the November meeting, the council concluded \u201cthere is a realistic possibility that it will not be possible to achieve an affordable construction target price and\/or an acceptable benefit cost ratio\u201d.<\/p>\n The EA said it was continuing to work with Worcestershire County Council \u201cto explore a viable and affordable proposal\u201d for the Severn Stoke scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The future of a flood defence scheme in Worcestershire hangs in the balance after troubled contractor Alun Griffiths pulled out of the project. The Welsh civils firm, part of the Tarmac group, had been lined up to build the scheme at Severn Stoke, which has already been hit by significant delays. But the \u00a31.8m project …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130832,"featured_media":423973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[549],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n