£5k Fine for Unlicensed Scaffolding in Lake District
9th February 2023
A Whitehaven-based scaffolding company was fined in late December after it was found to have erected scaffolding that obstructed a road in Keswick without a license.
The company was taken to court on 9th December by Cumbria County Council, having been accused of a breach of the Highways Act. No representatives from the business attended the hearing, where it was deemed that, despite repeated phone and email warnings that they were in breach of the Highways Act and claims they were very aware of the permit procedure, the business deliberately ignored their legal requirements.
Ultimately, the scaffolding company was fined £5,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and £961.68 in costs.
Keith Little, Councillor and cabinet member for Cumbria County Council’s highway and transport stated:
“The regulations are in place for good reason and the main one being is around health and safety for both the contractor and the public and that is something which we have to take very seriously as the consequences can be great.”
The Highways Act states a scaffolder’s responsibilities with regards to the erection of scaffolding on or near a public highway in Section 169, something that this company in question failed to do:
“…no person shall, in connection with any building or demolition work or the alteration, repair, maintenance or cleaning of any building, erect or retain on or over a highway any scaffolding or other structure which obstructs the highway, unless he is authorised to do so by a license in writing issued for the purposes of this section by the highway authority and complies with the terms of the license.”
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