O'Rourke one-man show plays Leeds


A real-life drama is being played out on a £30m-plus theatre revamp deal in West Yorkshire.
It is understood that only one player from an original cast of seven has bid for the refurbishment of Leeds Grand Theatre.
With Laing O'Rourke the solo act, the whole scheme may now have to be readvertised in the OJEU.
An industry insider said: "I believe it would contravene European Union rules if the client, Leeds City Council, went ahead with just one bid.
"This could be done on a PFI contract, where there is a public-sector comparator, but I doubt whether a single bid would do in a job like the Leeds scheme."
But he said one possible way out of the dilemma might be for the council to award the job as a negotiated deal.
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The city council would neither comment on its dilemma nor confirm it, and a spokesman only added another mysterious dimension to the plot by telling CJ: "As far as I know, the contract will be awarded within the next few weeks."
Originally, the client put six other firms on the casting couch. But HBG and Allenbuild, which both have a strong presence in the city, opted out. They were followed by the local office of Wates, Bradford contractor Totty, Sheffield outfit Banner Holdings and the Manchester office of ISG Interior/Exterior.
An industry insider said: "With so many firms turning their back on this project, there has to be something fundamentally wrong with it - putting aside the usual reasons for pulling out, such as a lack of resources."
He claimed: "This job is just too risky. For starters, the Grand Theatre is an old building in a congested city centre with difficult access. Anything could go wrong and it probably will."
The scheme includes a 350-seat auditorium for the theatre, built in 1879, plus refurbishment of the adjoining assembly room and building rehearsal rooms.


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