Brexit blamed as Powys schools' builder goes into administration
Contingency plans are being put in place after a contractor building three schools in Powys went into administration partly due to uncertainty over Brexit.
Dawnus, who went into administration last week, have been building a 360-pupil English-medium primary school and converting the Grade II listed Maesydre school building into a 150-pupil Welsh-medium primary school, both in Welshpool.
The project was due to cost more than £12 million, with plans to build an all through school in Machynlleth.
Those plans are on hold now with the site in Welshpool all locked up, while accountants Grant Thornton have been appointed as administrators.
Powys County Council has confirmed that the administrators have now been in contact with them.
Education cabinet member councillor Myfanwy Alexander has told concerned parents that luckily the authority is still going through the planning process on the Welsh medium school in Welshpool and the All-Through Ysgol Bro Hyddgen in Machynlleth.
Workers
Also she said it should be easy to find another contractor.
This week the administrators have said that there is no doubt that Brexit uncertainty has impacted on the contractor.
Alistair Wardell, restructuring partner at Grant Thornton, said: “The Dawnus Group has struggled with a wide variety of challenges and despite significant efforts to turn the business around, unfortunately it has not been possible to rescue the group.
“As a consequence, the future cash flows has meant that the business was not in a position to continue to operate, including completing existing work in progress.
“While the financial difficulties of the group were not a consequence of Brexit, there is no doubt that Brexit uncertainty impacted the ability to rescue the business.”
In the Senedd in Cardiff this week, Labour's Mid and West Wales AM Joyce Watson sought assurances for the workers left jobless by the developments,
She said: "My immediate concern is for the workers and their families, and for those left out of pocket throughout the supply chain – they deserve urgent answers.
“We need to know, too, what is happening with the projects underway and in the pipeline, including two new primary schools in Welshpool, a replacement all-through school in Machynlleth and the new road in Fishguard.”
