A Cheshire-based property developer has been fined £45,000 after inspectors found multiple safety failings at a Manchester housing site. Stockport Development Limited was prosecuted following a November 2023 HSE visit to its Kingsley Road project.
Inspectors identified missing edge protection on first-floor landings, damaged and incomplete site security fencing, a lack of fire alarms and extinguishers, obstructed walkways and inadequate welfare facilities. Four Improvement Notices were served requiring the firm to bring the site up to basic legal standards to protect workers and the public.
Further checks revealed HSE had already taken enforcement action against the company on four separate occasions between February 2021 and March 2023 over poor health and safety standards. Investigators concluded the business had repeatedly failed to meet its principal contractor duties or act on previous warnings.
At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, Stockport Development Limited, of Stockport, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to a safety breach. The firm was ordered to pay a £45,000 fine, an £18,000 surcharge and £6,297 in costs.
HSE inspector Claire Whitehurst said the company had shown “a total disregard” for keeping workers and the public safe by failing to meet the most basic standards. She stressed that principal contractors must identify and manage construction risks and warned that HSE will continue to pursue enforcement action, including prosecution, even where no incident has yet occurred.
