Basingstoke’s skyline will not be changing any time soon after the Basing View regeneration scheme suffered a massive setback.
The contractor charged with demolishing Loddon House and City Wall House in Basing View went bust just before Christmas.
The Armoury Group went into administration on December 23 with their work in the town only half completed.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has been left scrabbling around to find a replacement contractor.
But the two partially demolished buildings will now remain an eyesore for a minimum of three months.
This means the borough council will miss its deadline to have the site cleared of the ’70s-built office blocks by April 2011.
Council cabinet member for finance and property James Lewin said: “It is not a crisis, it is just a nuisance – they are becoming a site of dismay for residents there.
“But in the context of Basing View’s regeneration, it is not a show-stopper – it does not knock us back.
“I remain confident that we should still be able to complete the contract within the terms of the earmarked growth point funding we received from central government and with only a few months’ delay.”
The borough council now has to put the demolition contract out to tender.
Council officers have to balance their search for a quality service and the cost of the work to ensure the best value for money.
Cllr 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.
He said: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we had no reason to believe that this would happen.
“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 Labour group is calling for a review into the council’s tendering process.
Labour councillor Paul Harvey said: “You have to ask questions about the process.
“While you can’t predict if a company is going to go under, we need to make sure the process is robust enough to pick up any financial issues companies may be facing.
“Nobody has done anything wrong, but we need to reassure residents that this will not happen again.”
The regeneration of Basing View is a 15-year project to revamp five sites in the town’s main office district to make the town more attractive for companies to invest in.
The council still hopes that major regeneration work will get under way in 2012, with the first buildings expected to be completed by 2015.
