Newquay hotel fined for safety concerns at building site

Date:

16 March 2010

Release No:

739

A Newquay-based company has been fined £3,000 for putting builders at risk on one of its hotel construction sites in the town.

Bluechip Hotels Ltd of Lusty Glaze Road, Porth, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) and section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, for failing to provide guardrails on a bridge, over an excavation site. The company was fined £1,500 for each offence.

The Bluechip Hotels Ltd site in Newquay

At Bodmin Magistrates Court today Bluechip Hotels Ltd was also ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.

The court heard inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the site at Glendorgal Resort, Lusty Glaze Road, Newquay, during February and March 2008.

The inspectors were concerned that some employees were being asked to work at height without suitable precautions being taken. They also raised concerns about blocked walkways around the site.

Two Improvement Notices were served, but during a follow-up visit in March 2008 inspectors discovered work was continuing in the same way, prompting HSE to prosecute the company.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Barry Trudgian said:

"Forty one employees suffered major injuries following falls from height in Cornwall in 2008/09. This toll may have been even higher if the unsafe working practices at this site had continued.

"Construction companies must make the safety of their workers a priority, not leave it as an after-thought.

"Simple measures can be taken to ensure the safety of employees on construction sites, such as providing guardrails where necessary and keeping the site clear of hazards such as rubbish."

Notes to editors

1. Pictures of work at the site at Glendorgal, and interviews with the HSE inspector are available upon request from Wailim Wong (contact details below)
2. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all of his employees."
3. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."
4. Further guidance and advice on health and safety issues relating to building sites can be found on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction
5. The court also ordered Bluechip Hotels Ltd to pay a separate £15 victim surcharge.

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR South West