Fines for Failure to Remove Asbestos

According to an article published by Construction Enquirer this week, a Buckinghamshire care home has been fined after failing to ensure that asbestos was removed from old buildings before demolition work commenced.

A member of the public living in a neighbouring building raised concerns over the unsafe working practices at the former hospital site in Chesham.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors discovered that the former hospital buildings had been partially demolished by a contractor. However, Chesham Care was legally acting as the ‘principal contractor’ and had failed to ensure that asbestos containing materials were removed prior to demolition.

At High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, Chesham Care revealed that they had failed to appoint a principal contractor or construction design and management co-ordinator in writing. By law this means that they had taken on the associated legal duties and roles of this position but clearly did not have the required knowledge or experience to do so.

HSE inspectors said that the works had been underway for around 3 months and found asbestos containing materials amongst the demolished building debris.

Additionally, Chesham Care had failed to record demolition arrangements in writing, the site was not securely locked and no welfare facilities were present on site. In the opinion of the HSE inspectors, there was also a serious risk of injury from collapse of partially demolished buildings.

Rauf Ahmed, HSE inspector, commented that: “Clients have a key role in safely directing their construction project. Making arrangements effectively at the start of a project can have a positive impact through the various stages to completion. Clients should make informed appointments, such as designers, principal contractors/contractors using competent sources of health and safety from the outset.”

Chesham Care admitted multiple failures of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007. The firm was fined £35,000 and also ordered to pay costs of £1321.60.

To avoid these costly and potentially dangerous mistakes, find out more about working with a RICS registered project manager. To discuss the health and safety compliance of your project, contact The Logic Group today.

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Considering a New Lease

Should I stay or should I go?

Weighing up the pros and cons of relocating or staying put in your existing premises is usually a business critical decision which requires a considerable investment of time and effort. Whether you have an office, retail premises or industrial building, your lease renewal is something that should be carefully considered and expert advice sought.

In our experience we find that decision makers value an independent perspective and being able to call upon timely, practical advice suited to their needs. Logic PM, part of The Logic Group of companies, can assist your options appraisal in the following ways:

• Researching alternative properties to enable you to compare deals on a ‘like for like’ basis

• Providing an independent perspective on the small print of a new lease

• Access to our network of trusted contractors able to deal with all of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of picking up your operations and setting up afresh in your new or refurbished premises

For further information and advice, contact us today to discuss your upcoming lease renewal.

Mote Park Cricket Club

Logic PM were engaged by Maidstone Borough Council to review the pavilion at the Mote Park Cricket and Rugby Club. The brief was to help the local council understand the potential to refurbish the existing 1910 structure as opposed to demolish and rebuild the facility. Our in house team provided a range of services including design and space planning of the existing internal layouts, as well as detailed feasibility cost assessment. As part of our service we also undertook initial structural surveys of the building, given the important of future-proofing the facility as well as meeting the club’s current requirements.

When presenting our findings to Maidstone Borough Council, we used our 3D visualisation software to demonstrate our recommended proposal in a more visual and graphic video format. Contact us for further information about feasibility studies, space planning and project management services.