News / Weather delays Mareel opening
SNOW, wind and ice have delayed the opening of a state of the art cinema and music venue in Lerwick in June.
Shetland Arts announced on Thursday that the £12.1 million Mareel would now be completed in late summer, missing the islands’ biggest cultural event of the year, the four day visit by the Tall Ships Race in July.
Local firm DITT Construction Ltd said that freezing conditions and gale force winds on the UK mainland and Shetland had created a domino effect that made them miss their deadline to make the building wind and watertight by the end of November.
Shetland Arts director Gwilym Gibbons said the delay would not affect the budget to build the complex structure, half of which is being funded by Shetland Islands Council with the rest of the cash coming from Scottish and European funds.
Mr Gibbons said that aside from the disappointment of missing the Tall Ships Race, which would have taken place as part of the month long opening celebrations, there were no problems with opening later.
“It’s not unusual for building projects to become victims of forces that are outwith anyone’s control, but this has been an aspiration for 15 years and if it wasn’t for the Tall Ships, waiting a few more weeks would not be significant,” he said
“In many ways autumn is a better time to open as it’s the busiest time for venues.”
DITT director John Tait explained that the weather created a variety of problems for the building project, which got underway on Lerwick’s waterfront at North Ness two years ago.
“Snow and gales affected transport and shipping, roads on mainland Britain were snowbound affecting deliveries to ports, and ports and ship sailings were further affected by gale force winds which disrupted sailing times,” he said.
Supplies were held up for days on lorries outside Motherwell during the November snow, and the delivery of plate glass windows was affected by new Health and Safety Executive guidelines following an accident caused by freezing temperatures.
“Crucially the programmed wind and water tight date of the end of November could not be met. The weather also disrupted the main roofing contractors work due to risks of working in icy conditions and in high winds,” Mr Tait said.
While every effort is being made to recover lost time, DITT this week advised Shetland Arts that the opening would have to wait until at least August. However some work can still continue thanks to Mareel’s cellular structure.
Mr Gibbons said: “Some parts of the building are being painted; dry lining and plaster board is going up, but there are parts of the building where water is pouring in. DITT are working really hard to progress in the areas that they can.
“They are doing what they can to get the building sealed up and as soon as it is sealed up it will be packed with multiple sub contractors doing hundreds of different jobs.”
Shetland Arts spent Thursday notifying around eight acts that had been provisionally booked to play during the summer, attempting to rebook them at a later date. People who had hired the complex have also been notified.
Once completed, Mareel’s main auditorium will accommodate up to 750 people standing and 320 seated; the main digital cinema will seat 160 with a second smaller screen accommodating 30 folk for special viewings.
The complex will contain a recording studio; rehearsal areas for bands, DJs, drama and dance; a multi-media production suite for film, TV, web design, animation, digital arts and music production; educational facilities; and a café/ bar with free internet access.
The project has been heavily criticised in some quarters for being overambitious and expensive, only winning council funding on the casting vote of convener Sandy Cluness in 2008.
Last year the councillor-controlled Shetland Charitable Trust refused to advance money already promised to help with start up costs.
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