£100k fine for PJ Livesey over Didsbury blast

MANCHESTER property developer PJ Livesey Group has been fined £100,000 after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive over a gas explosion on one of its sites.

The Trafford Park-based company pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after failing to ensure people’s safety in the incident at its Didsbury Gate development on December 8 2009.

As well as the fine, the group will have to pay prosecution costs of more than £20,000.

The court heard that the former Withington Hospital building on Nell Lane was being converted into houses and apartments when a worker cut through a six-inch gas pipe in an underground tunnel.

The 41-year-old from Elton, Cheshire, who has asked not to be named, suffered burns to his hands and face when gas inside the pipe ignited.  About an hour later, gas that had continued to leak from the damaged pipe ignited again causing an explosion that destroyed a large part of the site.

The emergency services evacuated residents from hundreds of homes following the initial gas leak, including 21 apartments at Didsbury Gate,   which already occupied.

Businesses, three schools, a hospital, two health units and a police station also had to be evacuated, and the Urban Search and Rescue team was brought in to search the rubble to see if anyone was trapped.

Debris from the site landed on The Birches Primary School nearby, damaging buildings, a play area and the power supply for the school.

The court was told that PJ Livesey Group, the principal contractor for the development, had obtained a diagram from National Grid during the planning stages of the project which showed a gas main running into the site.

However, the company did not arrange for a detailed survey to be carried out to find out where the pipe ran, and wrongly told workers on the site that the gas pipes had been decommissioned.

After the hearing, Thomas Merry, the investigating inspector at HSE, said:
“This was a major incident that led to a massive emergency response and significant disruption to the neighbourhood. It was only luck that more people weren’t seriously injured or even killed in the explosion.

“It was unacceptable for PJ Livesey Group to allow the work to go ahead without checking that the gas supply had been properly disconnected. What’s worse is that the company actually had a National Grid document showing a gas main entering the site.

“A simple check would have identified it as being live, and avoided months of disruption and heartache for those residents who lost their homes.

“Construction companies involved in the refurbishment or demolition of buildings must make sure they know what potential dangers they’re dealing with before they allow work to start.”

In a statement PJ Livesey said: “The company acknowledges and accepts the fine handed down by the court. PJ Livesey Group is a resonsible developer and employer.

“The safety of our employees, contractors and members of the public is paramount and we have co-operated fully with the authorities as part of their investigations.”

The company fully rebuilt the development, including a Grade II listed former chapel building.