FIRMS involved in the botched construction of Colchester’s Firstsite arts centre were forced to pay back £7.75 million following legal actions, it has been revealed.
The long-awaited landmark, nicknamed the Golden Banana, was originally due to cost £16.3 million and open in October 2007.
But design problems, delays and flooding saw the construction cost spiral to £28.2 million by the time Firstsite was finally unveiled in September 2011.
Now, nearly two years after the venue finally opened for the first time, Colchester Council has revealed a series of legal actions successfully recouped £5.75 million.
It means the overall cost of the project, largely paid for by the public purse, was £22.45 million.
The authority made a £2 million gamble when it agreed, without the financial backing of Firstsite’s other funders, to hand Anthony Collins Solicitor borrowed cash to pursue at least four firms.
For a special report, see Monday's Gazette
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