Secrecy over cancer hospital construction project ‘breaches Nolan Principles of standards in public life’

Martin Shipton

Campaigners who believe Wales’ new cancer centre is being built in the wrong place have accused an NHS Trust of not conforming with the Nolan Principles of standards in public life by refusing to be open about problems the project is having.

The new Velindre cancer centre is being constructed on a stand-alone site in the Whitchurch district of Cardiff, while many experts have argued that it should be co-located with a large general hospital like the University Hospital of Wales.

Concerned local residents, who lost the battle to preserve a much-loved green space where new Velindre is now being built, shared their views about the ongoing building project with Nation.Cymru.

‘Significant problems’

They said: “We understand there have been significant problems with the procurement and construction of the new cancer centre.

“Andrew Scott Ltd were part of the Acorn Consortium which won the contract to build new Velindre, and were there to undertake the civil engineering work and some of the building work such as the concrete frame. This made sense as Sacyr, the Spanish firm in the consortium, has no real knowledge of the local markets and supply chains. Andrew Scott would have used local subcontractors to carry out these works.

“Some time after the Acorn Consortium was successful it was quietly announced that Andrew Scott was withdrawing from the consortium as they were too busy. A ridiculous situation, as Richard Coe of Kajima / Acorn has been involved since at least 2018, so years of planning should have gone into the team, and in particular the civil / infrastructure contractor for the critical initial stages of the build and in particular the concrete basements, tanks and frame.

“We have it from a reliable source that Andrew Scott was forced out of the consortium to enable Sacyr to carry out all of these works and to basically grab the profit margin that Andrew Scott had included on the many millions of pounds of work.

“Sacyr seems to have used a very mixed bag of small contractors so far, one of them being a concrete company called Harte, which was involved in the disastrous Heads of The Valleys road project.

“We recently discovered that Harte had been thrown off the job and that there are significant quality problems with drainage and concrete works. Minutes of meetings we have seen show that the Independent Inspector has picked up these problems.

“Sacyr has been talking to the earthworks contractor – Pritchards – to carry on with the concrete works. Work on the site has definitely slowed down and there are Spanish, Albanian and Ukrainian workers there.

“From our contacts within the industry, Sacyr has a poor understanding of UK construction, supply chains and specifications, and we hear that they don’t pay too quickly. An utter disgrace on the largest construction project in Wales.”

We sought comment from Velindre University NHS Trust and Sacyr.

Progressing

A spokesperson for Velindre University NHS Trust would only say: “Several companies have been involved at different stages in the development of the new Velindre Cancer Centre, which is one of the largest projects Wales has seen in decades.

“We continue to work closely with our construction partner, Sacyr, and the wider supply chain to deliver our new cancer centre, which is scheduled to open in Spring 2027.

“Construction is progressing well on site, and every stage brings us closer to delivering a state-of-the-art cancer centre that will transform care for our patients across south Wales for generations to come.”

Sacyr did not respond to our request for a statement.

A spokesperson for the Save the Northern Meadows group said: “Why isn’t Velindre Trust following the Nolan Principles of Public Life of accountability and openness?

“The Independent Tester for the new Velindre cancer centre has identified as a ‘red issue’ the quality of the concrete used in construction.

“Local people asked Velindre Trust and its contractor Sacyr some very reasonable questions based on this ‘red issue’ and have had no answers. A red issue requires Sacyr to come up with a plan to address the problem.

“People want to know how safe are the giant underground concrete water tanks which can hold up to 750,000 gallons of surface water – especially for those people who live below the water tanks.

“How safe are the underground bunkers which house the radiotherapy machines?

“How is the concrete quality going to be put right, how much will this cost and who will pay for this?

“Welsh hospitals have a history of being affected by concrete problems and it is quite legitimate for people to ask these questions. Why won’t Velindre Trust and Sacyr answer these questions? Velindre is a public body and surely should be following the Nolan Principles of standards in public life.’

“We are also surprised at the discredited claim of the new Velindre as a ‘state-of-the-

Art’ cancer centre that will transform care in the region. Top equipment alone can’t make a top centre. Claiming that the new, but obsolete, 1950s-style facility can transform the region’s cancer care is irresponsible. It needs first to be based at a major hospital. Hence the expert Nuffield advice to Velindre earmarked a new collaborative hub at UHW as the region’s leader of cancer transformation.”