A building contractor has been prosecuted for serious safety failings on a housing renovation project in Cheshire.

Skyline Building Services Limited of Foundry Gate, Leyland Mill Lane, Wigan pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 18(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and Regulation 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £20,000 with more than £4,095 in costs.

Manchester Magistrates Court heard the company was responsible for managing work at a house renovation at Fletsand Road, Wilmslow.

A preventative inspection, part of a Construction Inspection Initiative, was carried out at the site by a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector on 11 February 2016.


During the inspection, it was found standards of safety, relating in particular to work at height, slips and trips and tidiness, were extremely poor. Edge protection was found to be missing or removed, rendering workers vulnerable to falls from height. Debris was not removed from the site but tipped at the rear, burying the footings of scaffolding and making access unsafe.

In addition, the court heard supervision by management at the site was inadequate, resulting in a failure by all workers to deal with the risks present. A Prohibition Notice (PN) was served during the inspection, immediately halting all work on site except to make good the defects relating to falls from height, while an Improvement Notice was served to clear excessive waste.

HSE Inspector Ian Betley said: "Numerous failings were found on this site, including serious risks of falls from height and site tidiness that could have resulted in major injuries or even death.

"Skyline Building Services Limited showed scant regard for the safety of the workers they were responsible for and it was fortunate that nobody was seriously injured or killed."

(LM)