Miller Construction is to be replaced by another contractor to finish the refurbishment of Turnberry Resort for The 138th Open Golf Championship in July.
Leisurecorp, which bought the famous Ayrshire hotel and golf resort from Starwood Hotels for £55m at the end of 2008, has told Miller Construction that it will use another firm to finish the work.
A spokesperson for Leisurecorp said, “Leisurecorp and Miller Construction have failed to reach commercial agreement regarding the refurbishment of the Turnberry hotel following a period of negotiation. Miller was informed of this decision and given a stop work notice evoking a 14 day hand-over period on Wednesday (11/03/09).
Miller told the media that it was “surprised by the action taken but is co-operating fully with Leisurecorp for the handover of the site within the next 14 days.”
One worker, who did not wish to be named, told BBC Scotland, “We arrived on site this morning to find that the security had been changed. We were taken into the canteen where Miller informed us that they were no longer being employed to finish the job. We haven‘t heard anything about what happens next. We don‘t know if we‘re out of work or not. The hotel itself is less than half-finished. There’s a lot of work still to be done with the lift shafts, rewiring, painting and on the floors.”
The Leisurecorp statement concluded, “Leisurecorp confirm that preparations for The Open are on schedule with enhancements to the Ailsa golf course completed. The enhancements were well received by the R&A who were delighted with the progress of tournament preparations during a recent visit to Turnberry.”
The 138th Open Golf Championship will be held at Turnberry from 16 to 19 July.
Turnberry Resort www.turnberry.co.uk