Curtins draws disapproval from judge over car park

Consulting engineer Curtins has been landed with a £330,000 bill for the reinstatement of a defective car park in the Lake District, following the ruling of a High Court judge who said the firm was responsible for cracking and spalling of the concrete structure.

The action was mounted by South Lakeland District Council over a multi-storey car park in Kendal which was built between 1989-91.

Judge Anthony Thornton found Curtins was in breach of a duty of care and said: "This cracking and spalling is progressive and results from an inability of the structure, at critical locations in the joints, to maintain sufficient stiffness when subjected to live loads from car park traffic."

He added: "The direct consequence of its (Curtins') breaches was the cracking and spalling that has occurred. But for those breaches, appropriate mesh (reinforcement) would have been specified and installed and that would have avoided the degradation that occurred."

Curtins had agreed to the cost of the repairs but denied liability and argued that the design and detailing was the duty of a specialist supplier, and that the cracking and spalling was neither unusual nor structurally unsound.