Construction company fined for failure to produce asbestos survey report

Last Updated on 22nd April 2021 by Marketing

A London based construction company has been prosecuted for various breaches, including failure to carry out a survey to identify any asbestos prior to the demolition of a house in Surrey.

Laxmi Developments Ltd, a construction company based in Edgware, London and its director, Vijay Madhaparia, of Tavistock Road, Edgware have been fined after carrying out unsafe demolition and construction work at a house in Surrey. Redhill Magistrates’ Court heard a visit to a building site at Mellow Close, Banstead, on 23 June 2011, had resulted in the HSE serving a Prohibition Notice (PN) and three Improvement Notices on the firm as there were various contraventions to Health and Safety regulations. After receiving photographs which indicated the poor practices on the site continued, a HSE inspector visited the site again on 3 October 2011 and further PN’s were issued.

The Court was told that further to the earlier offences, Mr Madhaparia had also failed to produce an asbestos survey prior to the demolition, despite HSE inspectors having made this requested. This serious breach of asbestos regulations was further enhanced as the site stands in a residential area and in the vicinity a school.  Further investigation found that a lot of the waste had been burnt, which potentially increased the dispersal range of any asbestos fibres.

The HSE inspector commented that “There was a complete disregard for the safety of both workers and the public. Even after a Prohibition Notice had been served at the site workers were instructed to continue to work in exactly the same way. For anyone to conduct themselves or their business in this way is completely unacceptable and HSE will have no hesitation in bringing perpetrators before the courts.”

Laxmi Developments Ltd, ofTavistock Road, Edgware,London, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) and section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety etc at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The firm was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay the full costs of £11,930.

Vijay Madhaparia, of Tavistock Road, Edgware, London, pleaded guilty to breaching section 37(1) of the Health and Safety etc. at Work Act by virtue of breaching section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety etc. at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. He was fined £1,500 and disqualified from acting as a company director for three years.

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Published May 16, 2012

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