A facade specialist has been fined £240,000 after leaving combustible cladding he was removing from a building on residents’ balconies.
According to a statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the incident took place at The Circle, an eight-storey block of flats in central Liverpool, where Green Facades was carrying out remedial work.
People lived inside the building while workers removed aluminum composite material (ACM) panels and combustible insulation material.
An HSE inspector visited the site in January 2022 and found that, in preparation for the removal work, combustible material had been exposed. There was also inadequate means of escape from the scaffolding being erected, according to the statement.
When the inspector returned 11 days later, more material had been exposed without any protection against possible ignition sources, and combustible material was found on the balconies.
The contractor had previously been subject to HSE enforcement for similar breaches during the removal of cladding at a site in London, the watchdog said.
At Liverpool Magistrates’ Court. Green Façades Ltd, of Woolwich Road, south London, pleaded guilty to breaching regulations 11(1) and 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
He was fined £240,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,405
After the hearing, HSE inspector Jackie Western said: “The disturbing irony of this case is that work to protect residents from fire risk ended up making the situation more dangerous.
“This processing highlights the need for responsible management of the removal of the coating. The potentially tragic consequences of fire with this type of material are well known after the Grenfell Tower fire.”
He added: “Despite previous interventions and advice from the HSE and the availability of a wealth of guidance from the HSE and others, this company continued to fail in its duty to address the fire risk, putting people’s lives are at risk.”
