Legal wrangle continues over 5m Sellafield centre

Architectural practice David Marks Julia Barfield is seeking a legal shortcut to recover 20 000 it claims is owed by exhibition consultancy Brennan & Whalley over the Sellafield visitors centre.

The practice has already served a writ on the consultancy (DW 30 June) claiming unpaid design fees for sub-contracted work on the 5m centre at the nuclear power station.

Client British Nuclear Fuels paid 12 000 of the practice’s fees to Brennan & Whalley as lead consultant, which hasn’t been passed on.

“We’ve really had enough,” says the practice’s joint director David Marks. “We want to keep a good relationship with Brennan & Whalley, but they should have taken legal action against BNFL.”

Marks has suggested Brennan & Whalley is holding on to the 12 000 because the consultancy fears BNFL will not pay the consultancy the total project fees.

The practice is applying for a summary judgement, which speeds the court process by asking whether there is an unanswerable case on the strength of the case documents alone.

Brennan & Whalley director Jean Brennan refused to say more than “we’re trying to unblock a few technicalities”. A BNFL spokesman confirms Brennan & Whalley has not taken legal action against BNFL.