North Wales-based building contractor Watkin Jones and Son Ltd has been ordered to pay a total of £548,000 following the death of a roofing worker who fell through a roof while working on the construction of the Menai Centre in Bangor, Gwynedd.
Yorkshireman Thomas Whitmarsh was employed by a roofing contractor working for Watkin Jones and Son as a sub-contractor in May 2007. He fell nearly six metres through an unguarded opening in the roof to the floor below, sustaining serious head injuries.
After spending several months in hospital Mr Whitmarsh was making a gradual recovery; however, the brain injury he suffered exposed him to a much higher degree of infection. He contracted acute meningitis and died on 17 December 2009.
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!
The RICS is currently bringing to public attention the Chartered Surveyors Voluntary Service (CSVS) – a registered charity supported by the institute.
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.
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.