Demolition costs of Oceana nightclub finally settled

A LONG-RUNNING claim pursued by Swansea Council for nightclub demolition costs has been settled.

The council said it couldn’t go into details about the claim due to a confidentiality agreement.

The story goes back eight years when contractors starting demolishing the former Oceana nightclub on The Kingsway on behalf of the council.

A private company had surveyed the building over a period of six weeks beforehand, but it later emerged there was considerably more asbestos in it than had been identified. As a result demolition costs soared from £1.18m to £4.11m, including fees, according to a leaked report at the time.

The Welsh Government helped the council with the shortfall, and the council said it was in discussions with the surveyor company, Santia Asbestos Management Ltd, about what had happened. No further details emerged, apart from it becoming clear later that the council was trying to recover costs.

Now, in a response to a Freedom of Information request from the Local Democracy Service, the authority said the process had come to a conclusion.

It said: “The council can confirm that the claim has been settled but we are unable to disclose any more detail as there is a confidentiality agreement in place between the parties, which prevents the council from disclosing the terms of the settlement to any third party save for in limited circumstances.”

Prior to its Oceana days the nightclub was home to Time and Envy, Ritzy’s, and Top Rank, and was also once an Odeon Cinema.

Work on the replacement building – a high-tech office development – has been progressing at pace. The £50 million council-led scheme, called 71/72 The Kingsway, could be completed by the beginning of 2024 according to the main contractor, Bouygues UK. It will have two storeys below ground and five above, and the council said it will have enough space for around 600 workers.

Santia Asbestos Management was acquired by Tersus Consultancy Ltd in 2021. Tersus Consultancy directed the Local Democracy Reporting Service to another company, WCS Group for comment, but it didn’t respond at the time of going to press.