Retail group Marks & Spencer has been found guilty of putting its customers as well as staff and construction workers at risk of asbestos exposure at its store in Reading.

Above: Shoppers were at risk at this M&S store

Also found guilty were two of its contractors, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd and PA Realisations Ltd (formerly Pectel Ltd), who breached safety regulations when removing asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of the two stores.

The work was carried out between 2006 and 2007 on it store in Reading.

In the case, brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Winchester Crown Court heard how construction workers at the two stores removed asbestos-containing materials that were present in the ceiling tiles and elsewhere.

During the 15-week trial, the court heard that, as client, Marks & Spencer did not allocate sufficient time and space for the removal of the asbestos-containing materials at the Reading store. The contractors had to work overnight in enclosures on the shop floor, with the aim of completing small areas of asbestos removal before the shop opened to the public each day.

The HSE alleged that the retailer failed to ensure that work at Reading complied with the appropriate minimum standards set out in legislation and approved codes of practice. The company had produced its own guidance on how asbestos should be removed inside its stores, and the court heard that this guidance was followed by contractors inappropriately during major refurbishment.

The contractor, PA Realisations Ltd, failed to reduce to a minimum the spread of asbestos to the Reading shop floor. Witnesses said that areas cleaned by the company were re-contaminated by air moving through the void between the ceiling tiles and the floor above, and by poor standards of work.

The principal contractor at the Bournemouth store, Wilmott Dixon Construction Ltd, failed to plan, manage and monitor removal of asbestos-containing materials. It did not prevent the possibility of asbestos being disturbed by its workers in areas that had not been surveyed extensively.

According to the HSE, asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with an estimated 4,000 people dying every year.

The guilty companies will be sentenced on 26 September 2011.

After the hearing, HSE principal inspector Charles Gilby said: "This prosecution exposed serious failures by Marks & Spencer and its contractors that we hope others will learn from. This verdict is a wake-up call for the retail industry. Client accountability and responsibility is at the heart of this case, because asbestos can and does kill.

"There are very real lessons here for the country's large retailers and other organisations engaging in programmes of refurbishment, that they must allow enough time and resource to carry out work without endangering anyone."

Marks and Spencer plc, of Waterside House, North Wharf Road, Westminster, was found guilty of breaching section 2(1), relating to its own staff, and section 3(1), relating to members of the public and other workers, of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. These charges relate to the Broad Street Reading store and date from 24 April to 13 November 2006.

Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd, of Hertfordshire, was found guilty of contravening sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 between 5 February 2007 and 28 February 2007. These breaches took place at the M&S store in Commercial Road, Bournemouth.

PA Realisations Ltd (formerly Pectel Ltd), of the Observatory, Chapel Walks, Manchester, was found guilty of contravening regulation 15 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 between 5 May 2006 and 12 November 2006 at the M&S store on Broad Street, Reading.

At an earlier hearing, Altrincham-based Styles & Wood pleaded guilty to contravening sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. These charges relate to offences committed between 24 April and 13 November 2006 at the M&S store on Broad Street, Reading.

 Date: 10 February 2011

Over the next month, construction sites across the country will be visited as part of an intensive inspection initiative aimed at reducing death and injury in one of Britain's most dangerous industries.

During 2009/10, 42 workers died while working in construction, nationally, and nearly three quarters of these occurred during refurbishment, repair and maintenance activities. These will be the main focus of the latest inspections by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

On the unannounced visits - starting on 14 February - the inspectors will ensure that sites are managing work at height safely and that they are in good order, as well as checking that the risk of exposure to asbestos is being properly managed.

Last year inspectors visited 2014 sites and 2414 contractors. They were forced to issue more than 350 prohibition notices to stop dangerous work - much of it relating to working from height.

Philip White, HSE's Chief Inspector of Construction, said:

"This will be the fifth year that we have run the inspection initiative across Britain and we anticipate that that there will be examples of both good and bad practice - those where employers are taking all the measures they can to protect their workers and those where safety is way down the list of priorities.

"A lax attitude to health and safety in one of the more dangerous industries is not acceptable, especially when many of the incidents are completely avoidable by taking commonsense actions and precautions. As we've demonstrated in previous years, we will not hesitate to take action if we find poor practice that is putting the lives of workers at risk.

"This year, as part of ensuring risks from asbestos are properly managed, we will also be checking that, where appropriate, asbestos surveys have been carried out prior to any refurbishment work. Many workers believe that, because asbestos has been banned as a building material, it's no longer a threat to them. But that simply isn't true. Any premises built or refurbished before 2000 could contain asbestos."

1. During the inspection initiative, HSE inspectors will be looking at whether:
   • Jobs that involve working at height have been identified and properly planned to ensure that appropriate precautions are in place
   • Equipment is correctly installed / assembled, inspected and maintained and used properly
   • Sites are well organised, to avoid trips and falls
   • Walkways and stairs are free from obstructions
   • Work areas are clear of unnecessary materials and waste
2. Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction sector in Great Britain, with more than five incidents recorded every day.
3. Further information on the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007 http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm.htm^[1]
4. Further information on falls and trips in the construction industry http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/campaigns/fallstrips/index.htm^[2]
5. Further information on asbestos can be found http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm

Due to increased workload cba developments ltd have opened new offices at:-

Asset House, 28 Thorpe Wood, Peterborough, PE3 6SR.

Tel: 01733 264739

Two Peterborough-based companies, Pass UK Ltd and cba developments ltd, have joined forces to win a valuable contract to provide an asbestos survey of the historic buildings at Stewartby brickworks near Bedford prior to demolition.

Hanson Building Products intends to close its 110 acre site at Stewartby at the end February after failing to find a viable means of reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from the ageing factory.

The closure brings down the curtain on over a century of brickmaking in the Marston Vale, which in the boom times was home to the largest brickfields in the world.

Director of Pass UK, Chris Troop, said “by combining the strengths of our two companies we are capable of providing a much greater service to deal with all matters relating to the surveying, management and training of staff in asbestos work”.

Phil Elmer, of cba developments ltd added “Pass UK and cba have worked successfully together on smaller jobs for several months but to win this large contract is just fantastic for both of us”.

Brickmaking at Stewartby was at the heart of rebuilding Britain after the devastation of the Second World War, with many buildings built in London after 1945 made from the Fletton bricks produced there.

Production of the famous brick will continue at Hanson's Whittlesey plants, near Peterborough, which have sufficient capacity to meet market demands, and are not in breach of UK air quality limits.

However, part of the site near Bedford may be saved as the final four chimneys and two kilns have been named as listed buildings by English Heritage and the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport.

Both Pass UK and cba are based in Litton House at Saville Road in Peterborough.

We have recently introduced Asbestos services to our increasing range of operations,