Two firms prosecuted for dangerous building site

Posted by Now London on Sep 7, 2011 in Health & Safety, News, Recent News | 0 comments

Two construction companies have been fined for "appalling" standards at a building site in the London Borough of Merton.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted principal contractor, Kubik Homes Ltd, and the subcontractor, Bellway Developments Ltd after visiting the site in Wimbledon on several occasions.

Kubik Homes Ltd had already been served with four Prohibition Notices, one of which was actually breached while HSE Inspectors were on site.

City of London Magistrates’ Court heard there had been no safe access to the first floor under construction at the St Mary’s Road site. Instead, there was a makeshift ‘staircase’ formed from a bag of sand and piles of blocks, leading to the roof of a hut.

The first floor was accessed from the hut roof via wooden planks, spanning the gap between them. There was no edge protection to prevent falls.

On a visit to the site, HSE inspectors found a wooden gangway built the day before to provide access to the first floor was inadequate. There was also a 2.5 metre-deep excavation with no precautions taken to prevent people falling into it or the sides of the excavation collapsing in on anyone working within it.

The work areas around the site were uneven, littered with obstructions and trip hazards. Building materials had been stacked excessively high and stored haphazardly. Welfare facilities on-site were also extremely poor. The toilet was filthy and had a leaking cold water supply.

HSE served three Prohibition Notices to Kubik Homes ordering all work on site to cease until health and safety standards had been improved. On returning to the site, HSE Inspectors found an attempt had been made to erect edge protection around the first floor, but it was inadequate. Representatives of neither company had sufficient training, experience or a recognised qualification in site management.

While inspectors were on site, two men were seen walking on the first floor in breach of one of the Prohibition Notices. It became clear that work was still continuing in an unsafe manner, so another Prohibition Notice was served. This ordered all work on the site to stop until competent site management was put in place.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE’s inspector Loraine Charles said:

"Although there was no incident, the potential danger to the workers was very high.

"Conditions on this site were simply appalling. This is a shocking example of bad management of a construction site and it is a miracle that no one was injured.

"Both these companies failed to understand the nature of their duties under health and safety law and failed to sufficiently improve conditions on the site despite repeated interventions by the HSE. We will not hesitate to prosecute companies that behave in this way."

Kubik Homes Ltd, of High Street, Wimbledon, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety etc at Work Act 1974. The firm was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,426.50.

Bellway Developments Ltd, of Coniston Road, Bromley, Kent, also pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Act 1974. It was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,384.50.

All aboard London’s river services for The Mayor’s Thames Festival

Posted by Now London on Sep 7, 2011 in Entertainment, Events, Events & Ents, Mayor, News, Transport | 0 comments

It’s all hands on deck this weekend as London River Services and its operators get ready to help celebrate the annual Mayor’s Thames event with a very special offer.

During the whole weekend of 10 and 11 September  river operators including Thames Clippers, City Cruises, Crown River Cruises, Turk Launches, Tate to Tate and Parr’s Circular Services are offering 2-for-1 tickets^* to help visitors make the most of this year’s festival.

The festival is a stunning, free celebration of London and its world-famous waterway and is a key highlight in the city’s cultural calendar.  Activities take place all over the weekend on the River Thames, the riverside, walkways, roads, bridges, docks and open spaces from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge and beyond.

London River Services’ piers will be operating throughout the weekend, helping to provide fast and picturesque journeys along the river, passing the London Eye, The Royal Festival Hall and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre along the way.

London’s river services will operate normally throughout the weekend.

Andy Griffiths, Head of London River Services, said: “With a whole host of activities around the river this weekend for both Londoners and visitors alike, there is never a better time to enjoy the Thames Festival than from a scheduled River Bus or River Tour service. Our special 2-for-1 ticket* offer and clearer passenger information should make it a great time for all.”

Victory for cleaners in union recognition dispute

Posted by Now London on Sep 2, 2011 in News, Transport, Unions | 0 comments

RMT cleaners have forced contractor John Laing Integrated Services to recognise the union on London Overground following an organising campaign that has seen the vast majority of the workforce join the union since the end of March.

A ballot carried out under Central Arbitration Committee rules after the firm refused to enter into a voluntary agreement returned a six-to-one vote to give RMT bargaining rights for the staff, who work from depots at Acton, Gospel Oak, New Cross Gate and Willesden.

The union has been waging a long-term campaign to win better terms for transport cleaners who have seen their pay and working conditions squeezed massively by hard-nosed sub-contractors since rail privatisation 15 years ago.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said:

“This is another major milestone in our campaign to win better pay, conditions and rights for a group of workers who have been hammered by privatisation.

“Our reps at John Laing deserve massive credit for a determined organising campaign that began only in March, supported by organisers and activists from across the RMT family.

“By getting organised they have already won back-pay owed from the introduction of the London Living Wage in 2007, and will now be able to negotiate on other key issues – not least on pay and conditions.

“This has been a textbook campaign and the whole team should be congratulated for showing what can be done, but it remains a shameful reality that privateers and even public bodies have taken full advantage of fragmentation and subcontracting to drive down pay and conditions.”

A LOCK IS A GATE – young people of Hackney create album of songs as a gift for Central line passengers

Posted by Now London on Aug 24, 2011 in Art on the Underground, Events & Ents, News | 0 comments

Artist Ruth Ewan and composer Kerry Andrew unlocked the imaginations of a group of around 40 members of the Laburnum Boat Club in Hackney when they began working with them for a new Art on the Underground commission.

Together the young people have created a song album as a gift for travellers on the Central line.  Their experimental songs and drawings tell of who they are and how they think others see them and share their hopes and dreams for a better world in which to grow up.  The album will also be available as a free download from Art on the Underground’s website art.tfl.gov.uk from 24 August

Next, the group is creating two artworks for Bethnal Green Tube station to be launched this autumn. Two drawings, which map the sound and flow of songs from the album, will run above the length of the escalators.

Ruth Ewan was commissioned to devise and lead the project by Art on the Underground. Inspired by the youth club’s inclusive atmosphere and lively adventurous spirit, Ruth invited composer Kerry Andrew to collaborate with her on leading the project through a series of workshops open to all members of the Club who are aged between 9 and 19.  The young people were also given support in developing their words and lyrics by poet Evlynn Sharp. All the songs, words and drawings were created by Laburnum Club members, and shaped into complete artworks by Ruth and Kerry.

The group developed the theme A LOCK IS A GATE, a phrase that has both philosophical and practical meaning for the Club: a canal lock is a water gate that requires special knowledge to unlock. Once opened, it lets a boat pass between different water levels. In the same way, obstacles in life that might at first seem impassable can be overcome. The core of the songs and drawings in the project respond to this idea.

The album recounts the story of a journey, part imaginary, part real, that leads from the Tube to and along the Regent’s Canal. To develop their ideas, the Club members went on a tour behind the scenes at Bethnal Green Tube station and took a trip on a narrow boat through a lock and Islington canal tunnel. During their travels they recorded sounds on the water and out in the wider city, weaving them into songs. They also invented ways to express these sounds through mapping the flow of a song along a line.

Ruth Ewan, said: “I hugely enjoyed working with Kerry, Evlynn and the staff and young people from Laburnum Boat Club. The Boat Club is an inspiring organisation: energetic, welcoming and creative. It is a fantastic place, there should be more organisations like this across the country.”

Cathy Haynes, Curator for Art on the Underground, London Underground, said: “I hope Tube travellers will enjoy the songs and artworks that the young members of Laburnum Boat Club have created for them with Ruth, Kerry and Evlynn’. It has been a great experience to work with this group of young people from Hackney who have volunteered their time and creative energies to help make something for us all to enjoy. The artists have been exceptional in their commitment to the young people and their ideas. This has been a highly rewarding project.”

The album tracks and artwork will be downloadable for free at art.tfl.gov.uk for an unlimited period of time. A special edition of the album as a CD with sleeve artwork is also available for free for a limited period at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green and other venues. For information on stockists, visit art.tfl.gov.uk

Review of rail fares policy will help support capital’s jobs and economy

Posted by Now London on Aug 24, 2011 in Fare increases, London Councils, News, Transport | 0 comments

London Councils is calling for the government to review its rail fares policy, in order to ensure that train companies keep fares low and enable the capital to support its jobs and economy.

The organisation, which represents the capital’s 33 local authorities, is backing recommendations from a recent Whitehall review which suggested that savings on operating costs could help to keep fares more affordable, and help find the money from efficiencies for much-needed investment in the railways.

Last October, the government announced it would raise the cap on controlled fares – meaning season tickets and off-peak returns – from one to three percentage points above July’s Retail Price Index (RPI), which was announced at 5% earlier this week.

This means that rail fares could go up by an average of 8 per cent – with some individual routes potentially seeing price rises of as much as 13 per cent.

If implemented, some commuters will see as much as £1,300 added onto the price of their season tickets.

Employers in the capital have previously warned that high rail fares may have an impact on jobs and the economy.   Train fares in the UK already surpass the rest of Europe with Londoners paying twice as much for season tickets than their European counterparts.

Higher fares will both add to pressures for wage inflation and reduce the pool of labour available for London businesses.

The organisation believes that such an increase will place an unnecessary burden on working families in and around London – many of whom may already be struggling to cope with increases in energy prices, changes to their benefits and wage freezes as a result of the current economic climate.

Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond said earlier this week that the extra money generated from fares would be invested in improvements including new carriages, line electrification and London’s Crossrail and Thameslink projects – and that investment would simply not have been possible without the difficult decision to increase fares.

Earlier this year, Sir Roy McNulty produced his report which recommended, among other points, that the Department for Transport should undertake a full review of fares policy and current fares structure.

He added that this should address the complexity, anomalies and regional imbalances in the system, along with the season ticket pricing and all the other relevant factors affected by regulation.

Chair of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee, Councillor Catherine West (PICTURED) said:

“London’s economy relies on its workforce and in the current economic climate, the last thing we should be doing is discouraging people from getting to work.

“We welcome the need for investment in the railway network but increasing fares at a risk to London’s workforce is not the way to go about things.  The government should instead have a full review of fares policy to ensure that these improvements can be made out of savings instead of increased fares for commuters.”

Win a dream motor cycle to the value of £12,000

Posted by Now London on Aug 24, 2011 in News, Traffic | 0 comments

Riders who attend a Rider Skills Day between September and November 2011 could win a brand new motorcycle, scooter or protective clothing in a competition designed to help raise awareness of motorcycle safety in London.

Riders who participate in Transport for London (TfL) motorcycle or scooter assessment days during the next three months could win a new motorcycle or scooter in a competition being run in conjunction with the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI)

The competition, which will run between 1 September and 30 November, is open to anyone who attends a BikeSafe-London or ScooterSafe-London Rider Skills Day and completes a short questionnaire based on the assessment.

The prizes, worth around £20,000, have been provided to TfL by the MCI at no cost to the taxpayer. Successful entrants could win:

• A motorcycle of their choice (up to a value of £12,000)
  
• A scooter of their choice (up to the value of £2,000)
  
• One of three sets of protective clothing (up to the value of £1,000 each)
  
• One of six helmets (up to the value of £500 each)
  

Working with motorcyclists to improve safety on the Capitals roads is a key priority for TfL, as despite reductions in the number of riders killed or seriously injured ever year in London, too many riders are still involved in collisions. Since 1 May 2008, around 5,000 riders have completed the Rider Skills Day, which combines observed rides with interactive presentations and advice on keeping safer whilst riding in London to help riders avoid collisions in future.

The Rider Skills Days, which are run by TfL and delivered by the Metropolitan Police Services’ Motorcycle Tasking Team, look to educate London’s motorcyclists and scooter riders, as well as ensure that rider documentation and vehicle standards are correct.

As well as continuing to invest in the BikeSafe-London Rider Skills Days, TfL is working on a motorcycle safety action plan, which will seek to develop actions and proposals to improve road safety, specifically for motorcyclists. Work to engage with manufacturers and stakeholders is ongoing and TfL intend to publish the action plan later this year.

Ben Plowden, Director of Better Routes and Places at TfL said:

“The Mayor of London and TfL are both committed to improving motorcycle safety in London. Although the number of people killed or seriously injured whilst riding a powered two wheeled vehicle in London has fallen by 34 per cent since the mid nineties, there is still much that both TfL and the motorcycling community can do.”

“That’s why TfL is working to develop a motorcycle safety action plan and looking to the motorcycling community to ride responsibly and safely, with due regard for other road users. By running this competition with the MCI, we hope to encourage the Capital’s motorcyclists to improve their skills and raise awareness of motorcyclists to all road users across London.”

Steve Kenward, CEO of the Motor Cycle Industry Association said:  “Encouraging motorcycle and scooter riders to constantly develop their riding skill levels is essential and the Motor Cycle Industry is pleased to be working with TfL on this initiative.

“The motorcycle community is fully supportive of BikeSafe-London and ScooterSafe-London and if this scheme results in increased numbers of riders being involved with a skills assessment and then going on to further develop their riding technique MCI will be delighted with its participation.”

To book a place on a BikeSafe-London session, visit www.bikesafe-London.co.uk