Site safety - who is responsible?

[mcmurray]

If my derelict building is unsafe and dangerous what are my responsibilities in terms of preventing access?

I ask as we currently have a site that the council has spent £16,000 fencing and refencing following vandalism and the owner will not lift a finger. The council do not seem to be bothered in trying to recoupe said money.....

Alastair

 

[Tom]

IANAL but I would think that the owner is responsible. If someone gains access and suffers an injury I'm sure they could claim off the owner. The owner should have Third Party Liability for this eventuality. They should also have warning signs, stating there is a danger ie fragile roof, falling debris, unlevel ground etc etc. The owner must be able to show that s/he has done all that is 'reasonably practicable' to prevent injury.

Of course, I could be wrong!

Jaqy

 

[Tom]

Further to this, it sounds like someone has made the council aware of the potential danger and they're covering their arse by providing the fencing. Even so, I'm not sure that the tax payer should be funding it!!!

Jaqy

 

[Tom]

Ah, hang on...is the site Nocton Hall? If so, the owners probably don't give a tinker's toss if they are an Australian company with no presence in the UK. At the same time, the council will probably not want to chase rainbows in trying to recoup the costs of the fencing.

Jaqy