Guildhall offices hitby £94,000 water leak

A LEAK from a washing machine has caused thousands of pounds of damage to an expensive new office suite at Hull’s Guildhall.

The opposition Labour group at the Liberal Democrat-run authority said the leak, which happened over the Christmas holidays, caused “irreparable damage” to units installed on the ground floor in 2008 for the city council’s senior management team.

Labour councillors also claimed the leak had not been discovered for so long because of recent cuts to the levels of security staff at the Guildhall.

The savings, worth about 36,000, had been shown to be a false economy because of the damage, Labour said.

Labour group leader, Coun Steve Brady, said: “This is the very type of incident Labour warned of. It is not just a lack of forethought it is a lack of common sense akin to a Carry On film.”

Coun Brady called for the number of security staff to be returned to previous levels at a meeting of the full council yesterday.

But council leader Carl Minns said extra security would not have limited the damage.

“The lack of a night-time security presence made little difference in my view to the extent of the damage,” he said.

“A previous incident about 12 months ago caused similar damage when there was a presence overnight.

“They did not check every room and their tours of the building were limited. There may have been more damage this time but it was not significant.”

Labour claims the refit which included new carpets, chairs and furniture – cost about 120,000, although Coun Minns said the figure was 94,000.

The Guildhall also serves as a museum and houses a valuable art collection.