Company behind West Kirby Marine Lake refurbishment wound up

Apr 29 2009 by Kevin Core, Heswall News

THE firm being used to carry out the £750,000 refurbishment of the outer wall of West Kirby’s Marine Lake is being wound up by its parent company.

Irish Construction giant Pierse Group has pulled the plug on Northwich UK, which has just handed the lake back to West Kirby Sailing Club for the period of the Wilson Trophy, set to start on Friday, May 1.

While the deadline for the prestigious sailing event has been met, the council says it is waiting for clarification on the continuation of work in two weeks’ time, but expects the contract to be honoured.

Council officers had written a two-week window into the refurbishment contract to ensure that the trophy went ahead without a hitch.

The announcement of Northwich UK being wound up came four hours before the handover to West Kirby Sailing Club.

Club spokesman Ray Griffin said: “We first heard that something was wrong with the contractor on the Thursday morning and that subcontractors and plant hire people were busy repossessing their kit.

“The council has been hugely co-operative by writing into the contract that we would have the use of the lake for the event and we’re grateful for that.”

Spokesman for Pierse Group, Matthew O’Dowd, said: “We are winding the company up and there’s a process going on that has only just started, there are ongoing talks with our legal teams to see where we’re at.

“This will be an orderly wind down to get the money in and the creditors paid - this is not about running away.”

A spokeswoman for Wirral Council said: “We cannot comment on the trading status of another company.

“We are confident that the work will progress after the two-week break for the Wilson Trophy.”