The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Row over defects in NHS cancer centre
Storms have torn a “large section” of rendered wall from a state-of-the-art Dundee cancer research hub that opened less than a decade ago.
Dundee University’s estates team worked with the emergency services and colleagues from NHS Tayside to make the area around the Jacqui Wood Cancer Centre safe yesterday after ferocious winter weather damaged the building.
The centre – named after the “feisty” campaigner Jacqui Wood who raised millions in donations before succumbing to the disease – opened in 2013 after decades of highprofile charity appeals.
The Courier can reveal the latest damage, which has left a large portion of the rendering collapsed on the ground, is the latest in a string of issues to affect the building.
Dundee University managers are locked in an arbitration process with builder Sir Robert McAlpine and BMJ Architects in an effort to determine who is responsible for the defects.
Dundee University estates workers are still assessing the full cost of the most recent damage.
A spokesman said: “Members of the university’s estates team have been working with colleagues from NHS Tayside, the fire brigade and others to make the area outside the Jacqui Wood Cancer Centre safe after a large section of rendered wall was detached last night.
“Clearly we are concerned that this has happened to a relatively new building and investigations are under way,” he added.
BMJ Architects has been approached for comment. Builder Sir Robert McAlpine declined.
The incident comes after bad weather in 2018 caused similar problems at the centre, which is located on James Arnott Drive at Ninewells Hospital.
It is understood the issues lie with the rendering on the exterior of the walls rather than the structural soundness of the building itself.
News of the dispute is likely to dismay the thousands of Taysiders who supported the Ninewells Cancer Campaign, fronted by Dr Wood until her death in 2011.
The centre’s backers continued her work, raising a further £2m and naming the building in her honour in 2013.
The campaign’s vicechairman Lady Fiona Fraser said at the time of her death Dr Wood was a “legendary” fundraiser and “a beautiful, feisty lady, respected and loved by all who met her.”
The centre brought all of Dundee University’s clinical and laboratory cancer research work, including hundreds of specialists, under one roof.
It was hailed as a massive step forward in supporting research work on the disease in the city.
Dr Wood became a common sight across Tayside, often flanked by cartoon character Dennis the Menace, as she encouraged donors to dig into their pockets to fund various cancer-related projects.