Questions over why no action on 'serious failings' report for Bo'ness recreation centre
A “lack of urgency” and “lack of documented communication” were just two of many issues identified by auditors looking at why a 2019 report into “serious structural failings” in a swimming pool was not acted on by Falkirk Council.
An internal Falkirk Council investigation that followed the closure of Bo’ness Recreation Centre has concluded that “many areas remain unanswered”, as many of those involved are no longer with the council.
The recreation centre closed earlier than had been agreed last May after corrosion was identified in the concrete walls of the swimming pool.
But council chiefs were disturbed to find that serious structural failings of a very similar nature appeared to have been highlighted previously in a report written in 2019.
The 2019 report, written by the council’s structural engineer, stated: “In view of the hazard to the public and the increased risk caused by the weakened corner of the structure, it is my opinion that the swimming pool should be closed and drained as soon as possible.
“Monitoring the cracks and damage would not be appropriate in these circumstances. A specialist contractor should be appointed to repair the swimming pool. The will involve replacing all defective concrete and reinforcement at the South East corner of the pool as soon as possible.”
However, while the proposal was made to close Bo’ness Recreation Centre as part of Falkirk Council’s strategic property review, that report was not part of any considerations.
One of the new officers involved in the closure came across the report by chance and brought it to the council’s attention.
An internal audit report ordered by director of place, Malcolm Bennie, aimed to find out why the work had not been carried out and how the report had eventually been completely overlooked.
But auditors found that many of the people who made the decisions at the time – when the building was managed by Falkirk Community Trust – no longer work for the council and it has been difficult to get answers.
An executive summary of the “fact-finding exercise” is being presented to members of Falkirk Council’s audit committee next Tuesday, as an appendix to the Internal Audit Progress Report.
From several interviews and reviewing the evidence received, the latest report says that contributing factors towards the failings identified can be summarised as follows:
• There was no-one within the council who actively followed up the actions of the original 2019 report. • There was a lack of urgency to undertake the repairs (could be in part due to trust management stating to staff the pool was safe to use). • There was a shortage of health and safety / facilities team inspections on the fabric of the building. • A lack of documented communication between the trust and the council around repair requirements and seeking additional quotes. • The tenders requested did not follow proper procurement guidance. • Tenders, reports, and details of repairs were not centrally stored to monitor progress, resulting in no follow ups on work undertaken. • No decision process documented throughout to support any actions taken.
The 2019 report – which identified the structural issues with the pool tank – was commissioned by Falkirk Community Trust, following “the discovery of water pooling in a publicly accessible corridor floor, as well as walls which were damp to the touch.”
The audit summary states: “We found no evidence to confirm that the hard copy of the original 2019 report (which reflected the urgency required) had been cascaded to relevant officers, for example, the trust’s general manager and the sports and recreation manager, although there was dialogue documented in monthly SLA meetings between all the relevant parties that suggested they knew of its existence.”
Discussions between the trust and the council about what could be done and how to repair the pool structure resulted “in several conflicting tenders from four different companies”.
One was for repairing the deteriorating concrete, another for regrouting the pool.
The audit report notes: “There was, however, a lack of consistency in the responses from each of the four companies about what repair was appropriate.
“There was also very little evidence to support the final decision and course of action to regrout the pool.
“This gathering of different tenders and the related decision making resulted in delays in achieving the final repair of regrouting the pool.”
But the auditors also note that after several interviews and reviewing all the documentation available “there are many areas that remain unanswered” – partly due to the difficulty in interviewing some former employees.
They say there is:
• No evidence of the distribution of the hard copy of the original 2019 report to members of the trust. • No evidence of why a ‘second opinion’ on action to be taken was required. • Unclear why the opinion was that the pool was safe in 2019, and the decision was to drop water levels prior to any work being undertaken. • No evidence of agreement with the council’s facilities team for the work required to be included in the second opinion quotes.
The report says it is also unclear why the trust took the lead for the repair work when issues with structural integrity were the responsibility of the council and there is “no evidence of what was actually quoted for”.
There is also: • No evidence why the planned regrouting work was not completed after the Covid-19 lockdown. • No evidence why the five year repair plan didn’t pick up the work still to be done earlier. • Unable to determine why the SPR condition survey did not initially pick up an issue with the pool tank.
The issue was raised at a meeting of Falkirk Council in March 2024 by Councillor Brian McCabe who wrote to Audit Scotland demanding an investigation.
At the time, councillors were advised to wait for the outcome of the internal audit investigation.
Falkirk Council’s audit committee meets on Tuesday, April 29 at 10 am in Grangemouth Community Education Unit, Abbots Road, Grangemouth.