Scottish parliament has a loose beam on its roof

Scottish parliament has a loose beam on its roof

	Published : Mon, 20 Mar 2006 12:35 By : Phil Bateman Print this Story

EDINBURGH: There are some 900 construction faults identified in the 431-million-pound worth Scottish Parliament building built a year ago, inspections conducted to identify the snags have found.

The whole issue began when a 12-feet-long oak beam was found swinging loose from the building's roof on 2 March, causing concern whether it is safe to occupy the building, whether the building has been built as per specifications and whether it is covered under any warranty or insurance.

The investigation revealed that the builders' warranty on the roof of the Holyrood's debating chamber lasted for a year and it ended just two weeks before the problem was noticed. It was also revealed that the beam may not actually be covered by any defects liability.

The responsibility for repairs, therefore, rests with the parliament, which will mean in other words, the taxpayers. However, a spokesperson for the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body said presiding officer George Reid had made it clear that the parliament and its lawyers would explore all means to redeem the costs involved in repairs to the building. She said it is too early to say who would bear the costs and the priority at the moment is to get the chamber fixed first.

The members of the Scottish parliament have been holding non-committee sessions in The Hub, near Edinburgh Castle. The spokesperson said the debating chamber may be closed for business until mid-May.

Structural engineers Ove Arup said the main cause for the beam to swing was because one of the two bolts to secure the lower end was missing, while the other was broken and had damaged threads.

The spokesperson said most of the other snags noticed were relatively minor and included an unpainted lamppost and a concrete slab housing a tree, which needed to be altered.

The building is not covered under any insurance.