Two-year delay to leaking modular hospital job
A modular student accommodation job in Kent is two years late opening after being hit by water and damp problems.
The student accommodation and teaching building at Tunbridge Wells Hospital was due for completion in February 2022 after work started on site the previous summer.
But site sources have told the Enquirer the building is “riddled” with damp and mould after leaking.
Main contractor on the job is ESS Modular which was acquired by ISG in March 2022 but then sold again in December 2022 to parent company Cathexis.
Site sources said ESS Modular and ISG have been working together on the six-storey building which is designed to house 145 medical students and trainee doctors.
A source said: “The whole job has become an embarrassment that no-one wants to talk about because it is riddled with damp issues.”
A spokesperson for client the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said: “Our medical accommodation and teaching building is an exciting project which will attract future generations of doctors and medical students who can live, learn and work close to their placement.
“Damage caused by an ingress of water has now been rectified, and internal works will resume once external cladding is complete. The project is ongoing and we look forward to opening the facility and welcoming 145 new medical students to our community.”
ESS declined to comment.