Skidby Windmill, situated near to Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, is said to be England’s most northerly working windmill, and the only one north of the Humber. About 25 years ago, there was a near-fatal catastrophe, when one of the sail beams broke off during milling, on a Bank Holiday afternoon, and crashed through the roof of the adjoining building, which was full of tourists!
Luckily, no-one was hurt, but the local Council who owned the Mill – at that time, they were called Beverley Borough Council – approached Jim Coulson, director of Ripon based TFT Woodexperts, and asked him to immediately inspect the broken beam and then to initiate an ongoing Inspection Regime for the future.
The RICS is currently bringing to public attention the Chartered Surveyors Voluntary Service (CSVS) – a registered charity supported by the institute.
Two events in May will bring together the Local Authority Contaminated Land Network (LACL) and the Brownfield Risk Management Forum (BRMF) of CIRIA, the Construction Industry Research and Information Association.
The regulatory and contractual burdens being placed on parties, increased uncertainty of the business climate, the fragility of plans for construction projects, concerns over the robustness of supply chain partners, together with the profile resulting from increasing public and press scrutiny, are reasons why businesses are focussing even more closely on risks.
Construction companies in Kirklees are being urged to train their workers to improve safety on the building site.