Firm's woes see city work deal torn up

CITY chiefs have had to rip up a contract it had with building firm Connaught after it plunged into administration.

The stricken company had secured a contract in June to improve the council's low-rise housing but fell into administration last month. The contract has now been handed to the company that finished second in the original tendering process, Wates Construction.

A "financial soundness" test was carried out on the new contractor and it was judged to be "less likely to fail than the industry average".

The new deal, which will run for four years, will cost the council 176,000 a year more than the original deal with Connaught.

A budget of 9.25 million is expected to be needed over the next four years for the programme of improvements.

Notification of the award of the contract has been sent to all contractors that took part in the original tendering process.