Mediation specialists the Core Solutions Group have called for increased mediation as a solution for unresolved construction disputes, which Core chief executive John Sturrock says are frustrating, time-consuming, costly and inconvenient.

"When public money is involved, the exposure of taxpayers is increased. Very often, the damage to business and professional relationships can be long-lasting if efforts are not made to address the underlying concerns that people have," he said.

"Other methods of dispute resolution may often leave these unresolved.”

"In other countries, major transport and infrastructure disputes have been dealt with this way. For example, mediators were used to head off disputes in the massive Boston Big Dig, the major re-alignment of the traffic system in that city. The Hong Kong airport project, which included highways, tunnels and bridges, required mediation of disputes at certain stages and reportedly had a 79% success rate. There are real opportunities to do more of this in Scotland. We have seen a number of construction-related disputes resolved by mediation in recent years in Scotland. Often, these have been dragging on for a long time and parties have become polarised and entrenched."

Core are also hosting an inter-active session on 1 April in Edinburgh to explore how to "prepare for and design a process where many parties are engaged in discussion of a difficult issue." The subject under discussion will be "The Challenge of Climate Change: Wind, Water, Fossil or Fission?"