B of the Bang team pays out in row

Alexanda Coxon, Regen.net, 18 November 2008

Damages of £1.7 million will be paid to the council by designers Thomas Heatherwick and its subcontractors to compensate for design and construction flaws in "B of the Bang."

The sculpture was erected in east Manchester in 2005 to commemorate the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Metal spikes started falling away from the 184ft structure, which was designed to emulate the blast caused by a starter pistol, within two weeks of it being unveiled.

The council instigated High Court proceedings last October to recover some of the £1.42 million of public money paid for the sculpture, but a hearing scheduled for later this month will no longer go ahead.