AN ENGLISH construction firm has criticised Scottish Water's business arm after it had to wait more than 11 months to have a water supply connected to a development north of the Border.
Evans Easyspace says it is at risk of losing tenants because of a two-month delay in opening its £2.5 million office and workshops site in Bathgate, which was due to be completed in early August.
The latest criticism of Scottish Water comes just w
eeks after developer Algo Blairgowrie warned it had faced a string of delays in getting its site in Peebles connected to the water supply.
Although construction on the Bathgate site is complete, Easyspace is unable to acquire a certificate from building inspectors until it has a water connection.
The Leeds-based firm initially submitted an application to Scottish Water in November last year when it began construction on the site at Easter Inch.
It says it was later asked to resubmit a separate form in March after Scottish Water spun-off its corporate water business to create Business Stream, headed by chief executive Mark Powles.
Since then the development has been plagued by delays and bureaucracy.
Following dozens of phone calls from the company to Business Stream over the past six months, the organisation yesterday pledged to "fast track" Easyspace's application and said it hoped to have installed its supply within a week.
Project manager Simon Bottomley said that, in England, he would usually expect a water supply to be connected well within six months of submitting an application.
He added: "By separating Business Stream, it was meant to make the whole process quicker, but it has done the opposite. In England, getting a water supply is one of the fastest utilities to get sorted out – in Scotland it is the slowest. It does seem to be a poorer system."
He said he had been approached numerous times by Business Stream, telling him that they needed "one more" piece of paper or document.
He said: "They keep coming back to us for extra things – for example, the latest delay was because they wanted a certificate saying the fire hydrant on the site was in order direct from the fire brigade, when we had one from the council's building control officer, who gets this information from the fire brigade.
"They said they needed it specifically on the fire brigade's letterhead too. I've never experienced this anywhere else."
Stuart Mackinnon, a spokesman for the Federation of Small Business Scotland, said: "An obstacle like this is disappointing for any business, particularly in the current climate, and we would urge Business Stream to sort it out as soon as possible."
He added that the FSB were aware of other delays to water connection, particularly in the rural areas of Scotland.
Gordon Todd, head of customer experience at Business Stream, said yesterday: "We regret any delay but it has been partly a result of not getting the required information. We understand from the customer that they require water in mid October.
"Therefore we have been in touch with them today and are working closely with them and Scottish Water to get their connection in place by next week."
The full article contains 537 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
