Taxpayers face €177k bill for 'bespoke' works on Cork Garda station

Remedial work at Ballincollig Garda Station will require the closure of the station’s public office for most of November

Ballincollig Garda Station has had scaffolding in place for more than two years after a pane of glass in the atrium fell into the public office. Picture: Denis Minihane

It's going to cost the taxpayer some €177,000 to repair a Garda station’s bespoke glass atrium, where €40,000 has already been spent on support scaffolding since 2019.

The repair bill for Ballincollig Garda Station in Cork emerged on foot of queries to the Office of Public Works (OPW) following confirmation that remediation work has finally begun this week, more than two years since the damage occurred.

It will require the closure of the station’s public office for most of November.

The station, built at a cost of €3.4m, opened in 2011. It features a glass atrium above the main entrance.

But scaffolding had to be erected on August 19, 2019, after a pane of glass in it failed and fell into the public office.

Following an inspection by specialists, it was established the glass panel shattered due to a combination of movement in the supporting sub-frame and a flaw within the glazing panel itself.

The scaffolding was erected as a protective measure and was kept in place to complete the repair works, a spokesperson for the OPW said.

Eyesore

But the works never took place and the Lord Mayor of Cork, Ballincollig-based councillor Colm Kelleher, said the scaffolding has become an eyesore on the town’s main street.

“This has been going on for far too long,” he said.

“It’s good that the work is finally starting and while it’s great to see that it’s finally being rectified, I would urge the OPW to get the repairs done quickly.” 

The OPW described the glass atrium as a “bespoke specialised element” in the design of the Garda station, but said the designer and installer are no longer trading.

It said several repair project delivery methods were explored and evaluated to ensure the best approach was selected and value for money was achieved.

The delivery timeline of these repairs has been negatively affected by both Covid-19 and the impact of Brexit on the construction market.” 

The OPW confirmed it cost €10,425, ex VAT, to erect the scaffolding in 2019, and a further €39,266.43, ex VAT, to maintain it since.

The works to strengthen the existing structural frame and replace the glazing will cost €177,548.37, ex VAT.

All additional costs, including the removal of the scaffolding, are included in the contract for the works, the OPW.

The Garda station’s public office was closed earlier this week but reopened on Wednesday.

However, it will close again on Monday, November 5, and is due to re-open when the works are due for completion on December 3.

OPW coordinating work

In a statement, a Garda spokesperson said the OPW was coordinating all the work on the building.

“While the public office is closed, gardaí are still operating from the Garda station and responding to calls. Members of the public are advised to attend Togher, Bishopstown or any other Garda station, if necessary,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kelleher said he planned to write to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to ensure Cork gets its fair share of the [url=

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40719459.html] 800 additional gardaí promised in the budget.

He said Garda resources in Ballincollig were already stretched and more manpower was needed to ensure its public office opening hours could be regularised and extended.

The town’s old Garda station was housed in an 1884-built two-storey Victorian-era red-brick house on the northern side of the town’s main street.