Councillor with semi-demolished tower block says collapsed company was “significantly cheaper”
Hindsight, as the saying goes, is always 20:20. And certainly the collapse of Midlands-based Armoury Demolition and the resulting fallout which has left the town of Basingstoke seeking an alternative company to finish the demolition of a local tower block is an object lesson in the “if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is” school of hard-knocks.
Cllr James Lewin admitted Armoury’s quote for the job had been ‘significantly cheaper’ than those other companies. But he said the company’ references had been good enough to make it first choice.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we had no reason to believe that this would happen,” he says. “I know many people in their personal life would be steered clear if someone came in offering to do the work at a much cheaper price than everyone else, but local authorities can’t legally do that.”
In reaction to Armoury’s collapse, the opposition Labour group is calling for a review into the council’s tendering process.
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