Many basement extension projects unsafe, figures show

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/31/many-basement-extension-projects-unsafe-figures-show

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Nearly half of all basement extension projects being carried out at homes in high-value west and central London boroughs failed unannounced safety checks in March.

In a two-day blitz, the Health and Safety Executive sent inspectors to 127 homes in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and parts of Westminster.

At two construction sites, conditions were so dangerous that inspectors closed them down immediately. Enforcement action was taken at 62 of the sites – an overall rate of 48% – with 44 prohibition notices served requiring dangerous practices to stop immediately, 12 improvement notices served requiring safety improvements to be made and 63 notifications of contravention served identifying material breaches.

The trend for increasingly elaborate and expensive basement extension comes as wealthy residents of houses in London’s most exclusive addresses are tunnelling downwards through “digdowns” to maximise their space and – crucially – the value of their property.

The creation of these so-called “iceberg homes” is unpopular with neighbours, who have complained of the scourge of continual noise and disruption, and some councils have tightened up their planning rules to curb development.

Following a similar inspection drive in 2014, the HSE took enforcement action against one in three of the 107 sites it visited, showing that standards have slipped in a year.

In the latest action, more than two-thirds of the prohibition notices served dealt with the risk of workers falling from height, either into unguarded excavations or through unprotected floor openings, as well as unstabilised excavations. Inadequate welfare provision for workers on site accounted for half of the improvement notices.

James Hickman, the lead HSE inspector for the construction division in the City and south-west London, warned that domestic basement projects were technically-challenging and carried substantial risks.

“These enforcement figures reflect the rapidly-increasing number of companies entering the basement industry to meet the current high demand for basement living space in London”, he said.

“Those new to basement construction work are often unaware of the risks associated with the technically challenging nature of the work or of the standards required to ensure the safety of their workforce.”

The inspections followed a number of fatal incidents, as well as serious injuries, in the capital in recent years relating to basement excavation projects. Over the last 10 years, HSE has received reports of the deaths of 17 construction workers as a result of an excavation collapsing, while in the same period 27 were seriously injured.

Last year, a company director was found guilty of manslaughter offences and jailed after a labourer died in a basement excavation collapse in Fulham.