Still no answer to town centre crack mystery

Resident Allan Mercado asked councillors what progress had been made between NewburyTown Council and Parkway developers Costain at a council meeting on Monday night, but was left clueless as to whether a claim to recover the costs of repair had been accepted by Costain.
He said: “The deadline to respond given to Costain [over the] Parkway development was extended at their request.
“Has this further deadline been exceeded and if so what are the council’s intentions for proceeding with a civil claim against Costain for all costs incurred for the complete and satisfactory repair and reinstatement of the Victoria Park football area, the pathways, the tennis courts and the bowling green?”
So far, more than £24,000 of taxpayers’ cash has been used to fund repairs to the park and for the hydrogeological survey commissioned by the town council to establish the cause.
Information which may help identify the cause of subsidence and cracks in Victoria Park was received from Costain in late October, yet the council is still claiming that the information is “commercially sensitive” and cannot be disclosed.
Mayor of Newbury, Arthur Johnson, said: “Correspondence continues between the solicitors and as long as the legal proceedings continue we regret that we are not able to share the information publicly.
“To do so would compromise the town council’s position, as we have explained before.”
The saga started when in 2010, cracks and subsidence appeared across Victoria Park shortly after water extraction works were being undertaken by Costain to build Parkway’s multi-storey car park.