Willmott Dixon faces £2.4m claim from BSF subbie

Willmott Dixon is facing a £2.4m High Court claim from a specialist subcontractor over the construction of a £33m Building Schools for the Future school in north London.

According to a claim filed at the Technology and Construction Court by Harrow-based concrete specialist John Cooper Construction, Willmott Dixon failed to supply it with design information necessary to carry out works on Haringey’s Heartlands High School on schedule and “significantly varied” the design after work had begun.

Willmott Dixon disputes the claim and has filed a defence arguing that the “majority of issues” had already been dealt with by an adjudicator who awarded John Cooper Construction £428,000 in July.

John Cooper Construction, which was tasked with building a reinforced concrete frame, drainage and external works including demolition, said in the claim that the “absence of design information” from Willmott Dixon caused it to make 259 formal requests for information.

“The defendant delayed and disrupted the claimant’s work by the failure to make areas of the site available, issue instructions in a timely manner and generally to cooperate in the construction process,” the claim stated, adding that its work was held up by a total of 36 weeks.

In its defence, Willmott Dixon called the claim “considerably exaggerated”.

The document added: “The design of the main contract works did not change in any significant manner and the overall programme was achieved. The losses claimed are
unproven with little or no contemporaneous records.”