Record of asbestos safety checks for all pre-demolition / conversion building work in Avebury Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7AE.

Waiting for an internal review by Southend-on-Sea City Council of their handling of this request.

Dear Southend on Sea Borough Council,

Due to a potentially serious direct impact on my health, I politely request the following information ( from 2014 onwards for all pre-demolition / conversion and / or building work in Avebury Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7AE - these houses were all built in the early 1900's and as such very likely contained asbestos either in the main dwelling or in the outhouses, garages, workshops and sheds ) :
1. Under your mandatory checks at each important milestone / stage of the private Company's demolition / conversion building work, were any checks instigated and cross-referred against the asbestos register ?. The following legislation clearly states what checks should be made and the lawful process to be followed ( http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/duty.htm ) :
"The revised ACOP L143 ‘Managing and working with asbestos’ contains updated information about the requirements to manage asbestos under regulation 4 of CAR 2012. The information was previously available in the ACOP L127 ‘The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises’ which has now been withdrawn.
What is the duty?
The duty to manage asbestos is contained in regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. It requires the person who has the duty (ie the ‘dutyholder’) to :
• take reasonable steps to find out if there are materials containing asbestos..., and if so, its amount, where it is and what condition it is in.
• presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not.
• make, and keep up-to-date, a record of the location and condition of the asbestos- containing materials - or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos.
• assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified.
• prepare a plan that sets out in detail how the risks from these materials will be managed.
• take the necessary steps to put the plan into action.
• periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements to act on it so that the plan remains relevant and up-to-date.
• provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.
2. I have lived right next door to a "building site" for over two years in Avebury Road where I have seen no evidence of checks for asbestos nor any notification or warning to all nearby neighbours that such a hazard may be present and that all preventative / remedial work had been carried out.

I suffer from heart problems which affect my respiratory capacity. Hence for my own peace of mind I would like definitive confirmation complete with original, factual evidence that Southend Borough Council have :
a) Fulfilled their duty of care in regards to my health and wellbeing by making the requisite checks on the Building Company's processes and compliance with all asbestos related legislation ( nothing related to asbestos was ever mentioned in the Official documentation when permission was given to the Planning Application - this in itself should have come under closer scrutiny as trees were felled and the greenery to be re-instated as per the passed plans are non-existent ).
b) Checked and documented that the private Building Company followed the following 4 steps as listed by the HSE :
" How do dutyholders comply?
There are four essential steps:
b.1) find out whether the premises contains asbestos, and, if so, where it is and what condition it is in. If in doubt, materials must be presumed to contain asbestos
b.2) assess the risk from asbestos present in the premises
b.3) make a plan to manage that risk and act on it, and finally
b.4) provide this information to other employers (eg building contractors) who are likely to disturb any asbestos present, so that they can put in place appropriate control while the work is being done. ".

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Coles.

Southend FOI requests, Southend-on-Sea City Council

Customer Notice: Please do not e-mail Freedom of Information requests for
Southend Borough Council to individual officers. Please instead direct
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registration and completion.

 

Dear Andrew Coles,

 

Thank you for your request received on 28^th November 2016 for information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your request should receive a
reply by 29^th December 2016.

 

If you have any queries please get in touch quoting the FOI reference
number FOI 05242

 

Kind regards,

 

Kelly Robertson

 

Kelly Robertson – Corporate Freedom of Information Team – Southend-on-Sea
Borough Council

Creating a Better Southend

( 01702 212229 ext 2229 (Direct)
| * [2][email address] |8 [3]www.southend.gov.uk

Department of the Chief Executive l Southend-on-Sea Borough Council |
Floor 2, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6ER

 

    

Safe – clean – healthy – prosperous – excellent – Creating a better
Southend

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Debee Skinner, Southend-on-Sea City Council

Dear Mr Coles

 

In response to your Freedom of information request number 5242, in which
you asked the following questions

 

1.    Due to a potentially serious direct impact on my health, I politely
request the following information ( from 2014 onwards for all
pre-demolition / conversion and / or building work in Avebury Road,
Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7AE - these houses were all built in the early
1900's and as such very likely contained asbestos either in the main
dwelling or in the outhouses, garages, workshops and sheds )

 

I can confirm that a search for the information has been completed.

 

1.    Unfortunately we do not hold any information, the Health and Safety
Executive would have received and actioned any notifications in respect of
the removal of asbestos or asbestos containing materials as they are the
Authority responsible for enforcing health and safety on
demolition/construction sites.  The contact details for complaints to the
HSE  in this respect should be logged on the following link:

 

[1]http://webcommunities.hse.gov.uk/connect...

 

The management duty does not apply to domestic properties unless there are
shared/ common areas that are managed by an agent/ landlord.

 

If the property is non-domestic or there are shared areas managed by a
landlord the dutyholder under the legislation would be the owner/ managing
agent of the property, see extract below taken from HSE  website:

 

“The dutyholder is the owner of the [2]non-domestic premises or the person
or organisation that has clear responsibility for the maintenance or
repair of [3]non-domestic premises, for example through an explicit
agreement such as a tenancy agreement or contract”

 

The Owners have a duty to manage under the Regulations, when looking at
building work specifically the premises then becomes a workplace for the
workers so the contractor would need to ensure the work complies with The
Control of asbestos at work Regs and the client/ owner/ managing agent
needs to ensure the CDM regs are complied with as they now apply to
domestic premises. This should include getting a pre refurbishment survey
done, employing a competent contractor etc during the design stage and
ensuring any asbestos is avoided/ removed as per the guidance in the
regulations.

 

 If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to request a review of our response, you should write to
the Group Manager – Policy, Engagement and Communication, Corporate
Services Department, PO Box 6, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue,
Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6ER. If you are not content with the outcome
of your review, you can make a complaint under the Council’s complaints
process by writing to Corporate Complaints Officer, Corporate Services
Department, PO Box 6, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea,
Essex, SS2 6ER.

 

You can also apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a
decision although generally the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted the Council’s complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner
can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe
House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

Kind regards

 

Debee Skinner | Business Intelligence Officer | Southend-on-Sea Borough
Council

 

Creating a Better Southend

 

Phone: 01702 215408 | Email: [4][email address]
[5][email address] | Website: [6]www.southend.gov.uk

 Department for Place | Southend on Sea Borough Council | Floor 13 Civic
Centre | Victoria Avenue | Southend on Sea | SS2 6ER

 

P Before printing, please think about the environment.

 

    

Safe – clean – healthy – prosperous – excellent – Creating a better
Southend

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

The information in this e-mail and any attachments is confidential and may
be subject to legal professional privilege. It is intended solely for the
attention and use of the named addressee(s). If you are not the intended
recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Unless you are the
intended recipient or his/her representative you are not authorised to,
and must not, read, copy, distribute, use or retain this message or any
part of it. Communications sent to or from this organisations may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

At present the integrity of e-mail across the Internet cannot be
guaranteed and messages and documents sent via this medium are potentially
at risk. You should perform your own virus checks before opening any
attachments.

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
need to.

References

Visible links
1. http://webcommunities.hse.gov.uk/connect...
2. http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/duty.htm#...
3. http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/duty.htm#...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.southend.gov.uk/

Dear Southend on Sea Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Southend on Sea Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Record of asbestos safety checks for all pre-demolition / conversion building work in Avebury Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7AE.'.

Somebody, somewhere has to legally have an Asbestos register and a preventive plan of action to safeguard all those in the close vicinity of asbestos demolition, asbestos storage and asbestos removal. This all has to be done by properly licensed and regulated responsible people.

Who in Southend Borough Council had the responsibility for, and the duty to record all this information and then fulfil their duty of care as our Council to us, the 'general public' ? I, for one, definitely had no notification nor warning that work / handling and disposal of asbestos would be taking place right next door to me.

In my opinion, not only have you, in your allegedly negligent, incompetent and disregard of all applicable Health & Safety checks, had a severe detrimental effect on my mental wellbeing but also and much more importantly put my 'real' physical health in danger of death from asbestosis.

And that is why I want an Internal Review - to spare other's lives whom you might also put in the same "Danger Area".

I welcome your reply as I have an extensive dossier on rules / regs. and governance of working with asbestos and duty of care to anyone who may be affected by this 'dangerous' work.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Coles