Pool damage could have been 'malicious'

A construction boss said the leak-plagued £36 million Blairgowrie Recreation Centre may have been deliberately sabotaged.

- KATHRYN ANDERSON

A series of faults and leaks led to the Beeches Road building’s completion being delayed by 34 weeks.

This week, the project's construction director Paul Carle told elected members “minor unexplained penetrations of the liner” could have been “malicious” damage.

Mr Carle said: “Potentially it could have been damage - malicious - but I don’t know that for sure and it's very, very difficult to pinpoint who/what done that.

“They [the holes/tears] were identified through the recommissioning process and repaired.

“I don’t think there's any detriment to the pool at all but disappointing that we had to deal with it nonetheless but to say who or what did that I couldn’t answer that honestly.”

On Wednesday, September 17 PKC's Scrutiny and Performance Committee were presented with a report explaining the issues which caused the 34-week delay completing Blairgowrie Recreation Centre.

The project was due to be completed by December 16, 2024 but a series of leaks and faults led to it repeatedly being delayed until it was finally completed on August 11, 2025.

The various issues outlined in the report for the delay were: valve and pipework failures, commissioning errors - including a major cut in the liner-and “minor unexplained penetrations in the liner”.

The meeting also heard a puddle - of 12 litres per day - is seeping into the facility's technical room.