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McAlpine under fire after Storm Darragh damages hotel cladding panels
Will Mann Editor
Aerial view of the Victoria Square development in Woking (Image: Google)
Sir Robert McAlpine is racing to repair cladding panels on a hotel in Woking that were damaged by the recent Storm Darragh, amid heavy criticism from local politicians.
Woking Borough Council has closed Victoria Way, where the building is located, while the contractor works to secure the rainscreen panels on the Victoria Square hotel development.
McAlpine, which was design and build contractor on the scheme, says it expects the work to last until mid-January, but it may be delayed by adverse weather conditions.
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The contractor has received criticism from local councillors and Woking’s Liberal Democrat MP Will Forster, who has written to McAlpine CEO Neil Martin expressing his “anger and disappointment” with the company’s handling of the hotel construction.
The £500m development opened in 2022, but the contractor was forced to close a road around the building during construction in 2021 due to cladding panels becoming “dislodged”.
The letter from Woking MP Will Forster to McAlpine CEO Neil Martin.
A spokesperson for McAlpine said: “Further to the damage caused by Storm Darragh to a number of exterior rainscreen panels on the hotel, Sir Robert McAlpine is working to secure the building.
“Victoria Way will need to remain closed until the works have been completed to ensure the safety of the residents, businesses and visitors of Woking. This is expected to last until mid-January and could be affected by adverse weather conditions.
“We understand the impact the closure of Victoria Way is causing on the town centre and residential road network at one of the busiest times of the year and apologise for the disruption. Our teams are committed to working through the holiday period and during weekends to ensure the necessary repairs are completed without delay.”
‘Hugely disappointing’
Councillor Ann-Marie Barker, leader of Woking Borough Council, said: “Sir Robert McAlpine has confirmed that further work is required to identify safety issues with the exterior cladding on the hotel building. To ensure public safety, Victoria Way will need to remain closed until mid-January.
“Whilst public safety is paramount, it is hugely disappointing news for Woking. We have already suffered years of delays due to issues with the hotel cladding. A further month of closures will cause inconvenience and delays to residents, businesses and visitors to Woking.
“I am in regular contact with the Victoria Square Woking Ltd team and we are both making it abundantly clear to SRM that we need this problem fixed quickly and that residents and businesses are kept up to date.”
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