Principal contractor and principal designer fined for care home failures

The principal contractor (Coast & Country Construction) and principal designer (Paul Humphries Architects) of an extension project at Manor Lodge Residential Home in Exmouth, Devon, have been fined a total of £170,000 following failures on site.

Exeter Magistrates' Court heard that the companies had a total disregard for health and safety and site management during the project, which consequently risked the lives of 80 care home residents.

The project, which was undertaken in 2016, involved the construction of a large timber extension on the care home. On 1 March 2016, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors visited the site and found:

• workers were at risk of falls from height, slips and trips;
• workers were subject to risk from wood dust exposure;
• the construction of the timber extension created a risk of fire spread that could have injured or killed the vulnerable residents in the care home;
• work at the site was not properly planned, supervised, or undertaken in a safe manner.

As the principal contractor, it was Coast & Country Construction's duty to control how the work was carried out and to ensure that it would be completed safely. The principal designer Paul Humphries Architects had failed to consider the risk of fire spreading in its role.

The Court found Coast & Country Construction guilty of breaches under the Health and Safety and Work etc. Act 1974, and issued a £150,000 fine. 

Paul Humphries Architects pleaded guilty to breaches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations SI 2015/51 and were fined £20,000. 

HSE inspector, Nicole Buchanan, commented: ''Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working.''