A contractor has been fined after a roof fire broke out during welding work on a 14-storey apartment building under construction in Surrey. The HSE found that hot works were not properly planned or controlled, with no risk assessment, method statement or permit to work in place, and that the fire spread rapidly through uncovered insulation before the workers escaped.
Severe weekend storms disrupted major infrastructure and construction activity across the UK, forcing HS2 to postpone works on the Water Orton viaduct and temporarily halting construction at Hinkley Point C. The weather also caused widespread transport disruption, flooding, power cuts and damage to the network, while a separate scaffolding collapse in Streatham led to two hospitalisations and HSE involvement.
A section of the Kennet and Avon Canal in Bath has been temporarily closed after road improvement works by VolkerHighways damaged part of a tunnel arch over the canal. The Canal & River Trust says the structure is unsafe pending a detailed assessment by a structural engineer, while Bath and North East Somerset Council is continuing related road closures and monitoring the bridge.
A partial building and scaffolding collapse at a redevelopment site in Banbury has left two workers injured and prompted an HSE investigation. Emergency services attended the former car sales site, which is being converted into 19 apartments, and there were no reports of anyone trapped.
