Corby Cube

Corby Cube is a major building development in the town of Corby, Northamptonshire, England, which opened on 2 November 2010 and cost £47. 5m. The building houses a council chamber for Corby Borough Council, a Registry Office, a public library, a 450-seat theatre and a 100-seat studio theatre. The theatre has a programme of live productions, dance, music and standup comedy, complemented by a participation programme encouraging involvement of the whole Corby community. The theatre also screens films twice a week, including current mainstream and independent releases. Financial and building controversiesA report by Corby Borough Council in 2012 revealed that the Cube was built with dangerous design flaws and almost double its original estimated costs and a capacity of only half of what was planned. In 2012 the working group of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel published its report into Cube. This looks into the development and construction of the building. However, the full report contained commercial, financial and legally sensitive information so the public version of the report which was issued was heavily redacted with considerable blanking of text. In August 2012, the firm of architects of the Cube, Hawkins Brown, threatened to take Corby council to court over the report into the £12m authority-overspend on the Cube complex. Along with criticising the council board that ran the building project, the report claims architects Hawkins Brown did not stick to its brief. Among its conclusions, the report stated that the current Labour-controlled council: "incurred substantial unforeseen costs in order to bring the building into an occupiable state but with limitations on occupancy still unresolved". In September 2012, Hawkins Brown withdrew its threat of legal action against the borough council. The firm had, however, written to every borough councillor, asking for a chance to defend itself. Councillors were told not to respond "for legal reasons".

Corby Cube is a major building development in the town of Corby, Northamptonshire, England, which opened on 2 November 2010 and cost £47. 5m. The building houses a council chamber for Corby Borough Council, a Registry Office, a public library, a 450-seat theatre and a 100-seat studio theatre. The theatre has a programme of live productions, dance, music and standup comedy, complemented by a participation programme encouraging involvement of the whole Corby community. The theatre also screens films twice a week, including current mainstream and independent releases. Financial and building controversiesA report by Corby Borough Council in 2012 revealed that the Cube was built with dangerous design flaws and almost double its original estimated costs and a capacity of only half of what was planned. In 2012 the working group of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel published its report into Cube. This looks into the development and construction of the building. However, the full report contained commercial, financial and legally sensitive information so the public version of the report which was issued was heavily redacted with considerable blanking of text. In August 2012, the firm of architects of the Cube, Hawkins Brown, threatened to take Corby council to court over the report into the £12m authority-overspend on the Cube complex. Along with criticising the council board that ran the building project, the report claims architects Hawkins Brown did not stick to its brief. Among its conclusions, the report stated that the current Labour-controlled council: "incurred substantial unforeseen costs in order to bring the building into an occupiable state but with limitations on occupancy still unresolved". In September 2012, Hawkins Brown withdrew its threat of legal action against the borough council. The firm had, however, written to every borough councillor, asking for a chance to defend itself. Councillors were told not to respond "for legal reasons".