Agenda item

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

3.10

3.11

3.12

3.13

3.14

3.15

3.16

3.17

1.

Mr Austin presented the report. He said that the Health and Safety Board met a week ago. The main topics for discussion were Beckenham Place Park, an incident involving a Council tree falling and progress works regarding fire risk.

Mr Austin introduced Mr Damri who leads the asset management team. He was in attendance because this Committee had previously identified asbestos as one of the main topics for discussion. Members asked for more information about the risk of asbestos and how it is managed. He said that there is an asbestos register but it is not available as a single document; asbestos registers are held individually on all council buildings

At 6.30pm, Councillor Hall arrived and the meeting became quorate.

Mr Damri said that in the past, asbestos was used widely in construction. Its use was restricted in the 80’s and 90’s and abolished from March 1999. Lewisham’s building stock is very likely to contain asbestos. It was used because it has many good qualities; it is strong, good for insulating and cannot be dissolved by water or chemicals. It was used in a lot of products.

The only way to identify asbestos is through a survey and Lewisham employ external people to identify it. The HSE have replaced the type 1 and type 2 survey with R and D survey which is intrusive. An action plan may recommend removal of asbestos even if it is dangerous but usually the recommendation is to leave it and encapsulate it.

Mr Damri confirmed that there is not one asbestos register, this information is kept separately for each individual building corporately. The documents are large but this information could be printed out for each building if requested. The information in each document explains how the asbestos should be treated. When asbestos is found it triggers certain action. If the information does not cover all the building, an additional survey will be undertaken in that area.

Councillor Best referred to remedial works at the Sydenham Centre. She asked what prompted this action. Mr Damri explained the action that would have been taken if asbestos had been identified but he did not know the reasons for the works at the Sydenham Centre. He agreed to investigate the matter and advise Councillor Best accordingly. Councillor Best said that because of the pre-election period, the assembly meeting to have been held on 7 November had been cancelled. It was hoped that the meeting could be re-arranged in January if the Centre is open.

Councillor Hall said that the presence of asbestos had been focussed on buildings, but asbestos could be anywhere. He said that local residents were concerned about asbestos found in soil in Beckenham Place Park. There were claims that it had been floating in the air. He asked what action had been taken by officers. Mr Damri said that asbestos occurs naturally in the ground and could have been buried or occurred naturally. He said that fibre release is less likely than in other contexts. It is highly unlikely that there will be fibre release from asbestos that has been buried in the park because it will have been contained in the soil, and will probably be wet. If asbestos is identified, it must be dampened down to prevent fibres escaping into the air and the area should be cordon off.

Councillor Hall asked for a more detailed explanation of how asbestos was managed in Beckenham Place Park, particularly in the light of public interest.

Councillor Hall referred to paragraph 5.5 in the agenda and the management of asbestos risk on the Excalibur Estate. It refers to ‘they will have taken the necessary steps to remove the asbestos safely. Councillor Hall said that this reference does not make it clear whether the necessary steps were taken. He asked who inspects asbestos works when it has been completed. Mr Austin said that the duty is on the contractor who will have had to show that they have the experience to undertake the work.

Councillor Millbank asked how members can be sure that asbestos works have been checked. Mr Damri said site inspections will reveal whether the contractor is working in accordance with method statements. The HSE do not routinely inspect works. Site inspectors ensure that works have been undertaken in accordance with best practice. Mr Austin advised members that a report on contamination Funds was submitted to Mayor and Cabinet on 24 April 2019. It was agreed that this report be circulated to all members of this Committee for information.

Councillor Hall said that there have been complaints about the management of asbestos in Beckenham Place Park and on the Excalibur estate. He said that these complaints would have been directed to the responsible directorate. Mr Damri said that he is responsible for facilities management, and if a complaint was received from a member of the public stating that a contractor was not working in a professional manner in the management of asbestos, a member of his team would go to the site to investigate.

Mr Damri confirmed that each building has its own asbestos register. These documents are kept centrally and if members request a copy of a register for any building, officers will send it to them.

Incident in Beckenham Place Park

Councillor Best referred to paragraph 4.2 and the incident that took place in Beckenham Place Park. It was a serious incident and she would have expected to see more details of the events that took place. In future, she asked for more details to be submitted to this Committee when reporting serious events. Mr Austin agreed to undertake this in future.

Mr Austin said that an update had been received from Mr Murray about the incident in the Park along with information about where the investigation had progressed to. A report, with recommendations, will be submitted to the next meeting of the Health and Safety Board, in January 2020 and it was agreed that a copy will also be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee.

Mr Austin referred to the incident in Beckenham Place Park. He said that if there is to be a change around the regime for fencing, swimming and opening times, a report will need to be produced to identify money for the works.

Progress works regarding fire risk.

Mr Austin said that with regard to fire risk, officers are on track for remedial works. These works followed the serious blaze in flats in Barking and Dagenham. The flats had wooden balconies. Lewisham have identified some flats in the borough that also have wooden balconies and works were being planned to replace them.

Collapse of a Council Tree onto the Road

Mr Austin said that a tree fell in a Council cemetery. A previous inspection of the tree recommended a further inspection within three years. The tree fell within two years. Officers are considering this incident and whether there should be any changes to current practices. The incident was referred to the HSE and the insurance risk is being considered.

RESOLVED that the report be noted and the request for further information be actioned.

Minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health and Safety Committee held on 10 June 2019 be confirmed and signed.