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Repairs are carried out to the sculpture
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Bang out of order?
16/ 5/2008
TAXPAYERS have paid out nearly £300,000 to fix Manchester's beleaguered B of the Bang sculpture since it was built.
The startling figure is contained in documents obtained by our sister paper the Manchester Evening News
Thousands more will be spent on legal fees as the city council takes the makers of the 184ft work of art to court in a £2m compensation case.
The High Court hearing will begin on November 24 and is expected to run for 16 days.
B of the Bang – which cost £1.42m to create – was designed by Thomas Heatherwick to commemorate the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
But the complex steel structure has been beset by engineering problems. Nine of the steel spikes had to be removed after one fell off in 2006.
Papers obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation provide a breakdown of what the town hall has spent on trying to make the structure safe.
- £133,877.21 on getting consultant engineers Arups to supervise testing, investigate and inspect the sculpture.
- £67,000 on further spike testing and reporting.
- £32,588 on inspections in January, July and August last year.
- £27,000 on the removal of spikes in May last year.
- £11,000 on the removal of a spike for safety reasons in September last year and road closures.
- £10,000 on safety fencing around the sculpture.
- £340 on the Fire Service removing a spike that fell off.
The total cost of maintaining the sculpture is put at £281,805.21
When asked in an FOI request when the B of the Bang will be declared safe Des Gardner, the council's head of regeneration, said: "The B of the Bang is subject to regular monitoring and inspection, therefore, ensuring the safety of the public at all times."
Manchester council is taking legal action against four companies – designers Thomas Heatherwick Studio and sub-contractors Packman Lucas, Flint and Neil Partnership, and Westbury Structures, claiming breach of contract and negligence.
The sculpture was inspired by sprint hero Linford Christie's claim that he won an Olympic gold by starting on ‘the of the starting pistol's bang'. He was invited to the opening ceremony – two years late in 2005.
The price of the sculpture doubled from £750,000 to £1.42m because the winning quote to build it did not include installation. The bulk of the money came from a European fund for deprived areas, with £120,000 of taxpayers' cash used to prop up the project. Then, days before Linford Christie was due to perform the opening ceremony in January 2005, a seven-foot spike fell off.
The accident prompted the closure of a nearby slip road, amid fears other spikes may hit passers-by and drivers.
Later that year a spike – supposed to withstand wind speeds of 100mph {ndash} was spotted swaying perilously in the breeze. Then, thieves stole a 30ft spike – and dumped it in Beswick.
Despite the fitting of 170 special weights and reams of engineers' reports, the sculpture remains fenced off. If the council's lawsuit is successful, it will use the money to repair it.
The council declined to comment because of the ongoing legal action.
But Cllr Simon Ashley, leader of the council's Lib Dem group, said he'd always thought it was a waste of money.
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28/05/2008 at 06:18