Ken Guild, the leader of Dundee City Council at the time the Olympia was built has revealed he has always had concerns about the site of the crisis-hit centre.
Mr Guild, who headed up the SNP administration, claims he was worried the East Whale Lane plot for the £33 million swimming facility was “cramped”.
But the retired councillor says the local authority felt pressured to make sure the new Olympia – replacing the old one at the Waterfront – remained in the centre of the city, rather than a more spacious site on the outskirts.
He also says there were no other options available at the time.
His comments come after it was revealed this week the pools are likely to be shut for a total of two years – until October 2023 – after a number of major issues were discovered, some of which are believed to date back to its construction.
It has led to calls from locals for the existing building to be knocked down and a new one built elsewhere – with one swimming group saying “compromises” were made in the design of the leisure centre.
Public opinion ‘against Camperdown site’
Speaking at home after being approached by The Courier, Mr Guild said: “It had been suggested we would put the new centre near Camperdown Park off Kingsway West but public opinion was almost 100% against that.
“The pressure was on, not just my administration but the one before it, to get one near the Waterfront.
[The current location] would not have been my first choice.”
‘”The site that was chosen was just big enough.
“It was known it would be a challenge to put a building on that site but it was decided it was sufficient.”
The pools complex was built on the site of a former car park.
Mr Guild added: “That location would not have been my first choice.”
Liability for state of building still unclear
Councillors will meet next Wednesday to discuss and approve repairs costing £6.1m in a special meeting.
The Olympia was built by Balfour Beatty, under the Mansell Construction Services branding.
Members of the public have called for clarity from Dundee City Council over who is to blame for the existing issues.
A review is set to assess any liability of contractors, but documents released so far suggest there have been issues linked to both the construction and maintenance of the building.
Balfour Beatty has so far declined to comment despite repeated approaches from The Courier about its role in the project.
When asked why he believed there are now such major problems with the building, which only opened nine years ago, Mr Guild said: “I honestly don’t know.
“I only know what has been in the press since it closed.
Former director and chief executive stay silent
“In general terms, it was a fairly cramped site.
“I’m short on detail and I don’t want to start speculating, but what I do know is that the public wanted it in the centre, and not out at the Kingsway in what would have been a relatively remote location.”
Meanwhile, David Dorward – who was the council’s chief executive at the time the Olympia was built – and Stewart Murdoch, the director of the centre’s operator Leisure and Culture Dundee back in 2013, have both declined to comment.
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