Dumfries and Galloway Council are reported to have formally initiated court proceedings over the DG One leisure centre in Dumfries.

According to the BBC, the proceedings are to recover the cost of repairs to the centre.

Councillors originally approved the move in January, with legal papers having now been lodged ahead of a May deadline.

The claim is against contractors Kier Construction Limited and has been assessed as just over £5m. The company has stated it has always responded promptly to any faults with the building at its own cost.

-- Advertisement --

The DG One leisure centre opened six months late in 2008, but has been hit with problems since it opened and has been forced to closed a number of times for repairs.

It is understood technical experts for the Council have now identified a further list of defects with the building and estimate the cost of repairs to be £3.7m.

As a result, the centre is likely to be closed to the public for four months from January 2014 with the swimming areas out of action for a further 13 months after that.

The Council has said it is suing the contractors for the cost of the work, lost income and legal expenses.

In a statement, Council Leader Ivor Hyslop said the authority had been in correspondence with Kier Construction for some time to try to resolve the matter out of court. However, he described the company's response as "inadequate", adding it was now "appropriate" to raise court proceedings.

The company has regularly said it was willing work with the authority to address any issues which were its responsibility.

(JP/CD)