With the Town Meeting being run tonight, it felt relevant to give Ventnor town a bit of background as how things have operated before the ‘new councillors’ were voted in.
In October last year a Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) Audit took place at the Ventnor Winter Gardens (VWG). The report highlights numerous Health & Safety risks and failures at the venue which has historically been, and still is, under control of the Ventnor Town Council.
The report was requested by one of the ‘new councillors’, David George.
The summary of the report acknowledges that following the June 2009 elections, the Ventnor Winter Gardens had only very recently come under new management.
It goes on to recognise that the new management team (headed by Cllr George as Chairman and Cllr Stubbings as deputy chair) appeared to be eager to promote a positive health and safety culture at the premises.
Not surprising then, given what the report finds to be a lack of recorded risk assessment or up to date health and safety policy (both required under UK law), that auditors lay blame for the H&S neglect with those who previously had responsibility for safety at the venue, i.e the Ventnor Town Council prior to election in June 2009.
Health and Safety gone mad?
We’re all too well aware of the phrase “It’s health and safety gone mad!” and many agree that some H&S rules can sometimes feel like that, but the thought of attending a full capacity gig (400 people) at a venue which has fire doors blocked by scaffolding on the outside of the building brings home quite how important Health and Safety regulations can be.
“It’s all trivial nonsense”
We’ve already heard whisperings around town of people rejecting the findings as trivial. There are items raised in the HSW report that some of you will think are minor and not worth worrying about, but equally there are other items that should have and do require serious attention.
The items are summarised below, but if you want to view the report yourselves we’ve embedded it at the bottom of the page.
No policy review for 11 years
The report begins by pointing out that although an agreement was made in 1998 to review the H&S policy on an annual basis, that no documentary evidence was found of it being reviewed in the last 11 years.
No risk assessments?
As highlighted in the Audit Report which was released to the public earlier this year, despite a Risk Assessment working party (chaired by former councillor Val Taylor) agreeing to meet every quarter, no meetings were held for over a year.
Given the lack of meetings to discuss risk assessment, it was no surprise to read that the auditors could find no evidence of any documented risk assessments at the VWG.
Overhead lighting in main hall
No maintenance records for the overhead lighting and heating fittings in the main hall could be found, so it was unknown when they were last tested for electrical safety or load-bearing integrity – translated: it was unknown if they were securely fixed or ready to fall down.
After hearing Cllr Scoccia making jokes about Cllr Stubbings sitting beneath one of the hazardous units at a recent Town Council meeting, we were relieved to see some of the heaters had been removed from the ceiling, when visiting the VWG last weekend.
Food vulnerable to contamination by rats and mice
During the audit, which took place when Graham Perks had the catering concession, vegetable produce was being stored on the floor out in the open in an outbuilding, making it vulnerable, the auditors stated, to contamination by rats and mice.
In addition, the cooker hood filter in the kitchen was heavily contaminated with thick, brown grease.
Fire drills? Where do you buy those?
There were no records of fire drills ever taking place and more worryingly, two fire doors were found to be blocked at the time of inspection.
Blocked fire doors
One fire door was found to have a buggy pushed up against it and another where a scaffold pole blocked the door from being fully opened.
Fire hazard
Items of clothes were left on wall mounted electric heaters, creating a fire hazard (even a 9 year old knows you can’t do that).
No training or designated fire marshalls
There was no evidence of any fire response training or who indeed was designated as fire marshalls.
Fire extinguishers were found to be holding doors open rather than in their allocated stations.
No smoking workplace?
We all remember the time before it became an offence to smoke in the workplace, but that was going back a couple of years.
It might be surprising to some then to read that report found the town clerk’s office was being used for smoking on a regular basis reporting “several ash trays put out for use and the odour of stale tobacco was ingrained within the room.”
Heavily corroded ladders
Clearly in a venue such as the VWG it is necessary for a lot of work to be carried out on ladders (access to lighting rigs etc). The auditors found that one step ladder was deemed unsafe to use and a “fixed steel roof ladder to high level roof areas” is described as “heavily corroded and should not be used.”
The list goes on and you can read it in full at the bottom of this page.
What happens next?
Meeting the recommendations set out by the auditors will not be a quick and easy task, but it is one that is necessary.
The HSW report was scheduled to be discussed at the 25th January meeting, but then removed from the agenda (with no explanation as to why).
It didn’t appear on the agenda for the February Town Council meeting, but is scheduled to be discussed at the Extraordinary Town Council Meeting which takes place on Friday 26th March at 7pm.
We expect to find out more then and will report back.
The full report
Winter Gardens Health and Safety Report 2009
We recommend that your click on Fullscreen to read it.
Image: Isle of Wight Council
