Shellharbour City Council says it could be the end of the year before work on the lifeguard tower at Warilla beach is completed, after the council was forced to take over the contract it awarded to a Flinders company to build the structure.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Work on the tower began in July last year and was expected to be complete by December.
However, on Thursday, an incomplete structure – surrounded by scaffolding, temporary fencing and building materials – was all that stood on the site.
The council’s director of amenity and assets, Ben Stewart, told the Mercury work on the tower was currently “on hold” after complications with the builder.
Mr Stewart said the council had taken over the project from Flinders-based Knorr Constructions, the company it engaged to build the tower, “due to the delay in delivery of the project, under the contract conditions”.
“There are a number of defects and issues with the construction,” he said.
The council director said Knorr Constructions had been granted extensions of time throughout the project, with the completion date initially pushed back to March.
“Part of this delay following the December 2017 deadline was to avoid construction during peak beach season,” he said.
“Council met with Knorr Constructions on several occasions to give them the opportunity rectify identified defects.
“However, by May 2018 these were not completed and council acted on the contract and took over completion of the works.”
Mr Stewart said the council was now the project contractor and was “currently investigating proposed remediation works for the defects and issues left behind by Knorr Constructions”.
Providing “suitable remediation strategies” were available, he said the council planned to have the works completed before the end of this year.
The Mercury could not find contact details for Knorr Constructions, meaning it could not be reached for comment.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the company is due to be deregistered.
A notice of proposed deregistration, published on the ASIC website on June 15, said it may deregister the company in mid-August.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
