No insurance claim made over demolition of historic Christie Clock as contractors pocketed £15,000

Almost £15,000 was paid to contractors who carried out work which saw the demolition of the Christie Memorial Clock, the Stirling Observer can reveal.It also emerged at the recent special Stirling Council meeting that the structure was not insured – and the council subsequently refused to answer questions about claiming indemnity insurance.The contractors’ sum paid out by cash-strapped Stirling Council was obtained through a Freedom of Information request.The FoI response also divulged that five contractors shared in the sum.It stated: “Full payment has been made.

Total: £14,922.52. This amount is the total amount paid to all five contractors in total.”The clock, which had stood in Allan Park since 1906, was demolished in what the council admitted was a “terrible mistake” on September 1 last year.Councillors however recently rejected a recommendation to repair the listed structure at a cost of nearly £900,000 and opted to look into a range of “more cost-effective solutions” for the site, now disfigured by the stump of the clock tower.The listed clock was reduced to rubble in September last year after dismantling it for repairs off-site led to it crumbling.

Local people and politicians reacted with outcry when footage of the historic clock being ripped down emerged.After hearing a report in private into the demolition, Councillor Scott Farmer said the demolition was caused by “a jaw-dropping sequence of missed opportunities” and “systematic failure”.

Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area. Chief executive Carol Beattie issued an “unreserved apology”Council leader Chris Kane, who had previously vowed to rebuild the clock, had told fellow councillors: “We must fix our mistake, but given the difficult and