Construction firm fined for ignoring fire safety during works

The Glovers Court project was under construction on 16 May 2023 when it was visited by officers from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. A number of fire safety issues were identified and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service subsequently prohibited the use of the building, meaning that residents already living there had to leave their homes.

As construction work was still ongoing, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) worked in multi-agency collaboration to deal with the premises. An inspector from the HSE then visited the site, duly finding the company not to be complying with its duty to ensure suitable fire safety precautions were in place during ongoing construction work.

Those failures included the absence of a fire detection system, no means of raising the alarm in the event of a fire and inadequate escape plans. Further, construction work had not been phased to ensure fire compartmentation was maintained throughout the project to prevent fire spreading to all floors.

Prohibition Notice

As a result of the inspection findings, the HSE served a Prohibition Notice against Glovers Court Ltd, stopping all further work on the property until adequate fire precautions were put in place. The HSE also served an Improvement Notice requiring the company to design and implement a fire management plan.

However, during further site visits in June and November 2023, the HSE found construction work had been ongoing, while no action had been taken to comply with either the Prohibition Notice or the Improvement Notice.

HSE legislation requires a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment to be carried out by a designated ‘Responsible Person’. HSE guidance states that, where necessary in the interests of the health or safety of a person on a construction site, suitable and sufficient firefighting equipment and fire detection and alarm systems must be provided and located in suitable places. Further details on this can be found online at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/regulation/32/mad and https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg168.pdf. (PDF)

Detail on the breaches

Following a trial held at Preston Magistrates’ Court on 26 June 2025, Glovers Court Ltd of Kingsway, Altrincham in Cheshire (which has now gone into liquidation) was found guilty in its absence. The company was fined £165,000 and ordered to pay £10,512 in costs.

The company was found guilty of breaching:

*Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act by virtue of breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The PD must plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase and co-ordinate Health and Safety matters to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the project is carried out without risks to Health and Safety

*Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act by virtue of breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The failures relating to general and process fire precautions can be identified in the failure to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase to ensure it’s carried out without risks and by virtue of Regulation 16 (1) and (2) and Part 4 because construction work is being carried out

*Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act x 2. It’s an offence for a person to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an Improvement Notice or a Prohibition Notice (including any such notice as modified on appeal)

Blatant disregard

HSE inspector Christine McGlynn commented: “This company showed a blatant disregard for fire safety and the laws in place to protect both people and places. Each year, there are estimated to be hundreds of fires on construction sites, potentially putting the lives of workers and members of the public at risk. Any outbreak of fire threatens the safety of those on-site and is costly in terms of damage and delay. Many such fires can be avoided by careful planning and control of work activities.”

A spokesperson for the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service explained: “This prosecution highlights the positive outcomes multi-agency working has for fire safety in Lancashire. It also highlights the critical importance property developers, owners and managers must afford to fire safety. We welcome the court’s recognition of the seriousness of these breaches and hope this serves as a clear message to all about their legal and moral responsibilities.”

The HSE prosecution case was brought by enforcement lawyer Karen Park and paralegal Rebecca Withell.