Edinburgh-based HSE Principal Inspector Jim Skilling, said: "Tragically, last year, 38 people in Great Britain died on these types of projects and many more were injured or suffered ill-health because of poor health and safety practices.
"Whether you think of yourself as a property investor, developer or renovator, everyone has a role to play in helping reduce the number of serious and sometimes fatal incidents."
The HSE has worked with stakeholders from across the construction industry to develop this campaign. Chris Tisi, who chairs the campaign stakeholder group said: "I've been involved in development of property in various capacities over 35 years and found that health and safety has to be an integral part of any project in bringing it to completion on time and to budget. In my experience a safe and healthy site is a successful site."
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Bob Blackman, of Unite Union, said whatever the size of a property development company health and safety should be seen as something that helps a development run smoothly and successfully, not as a cost that can be cut.
The health and safety regulator is launching this awareness raising campaign after it discovered that many people developing property for business do not know about the legal responsibilities clients have under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007).
HSE statistics show a startling snapshot of the repair, refurbishment and maintenance sector: between 1999 & 2007, 340 people died. Last year (2007/08) alone, it was responsible for over half (52%) of construction fatalities, some 38 deaths, with falls from height and electrocution accounting for most of these.
Mr Skilling concluded: "If you see yourself as a property developer, I would urge you to visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/property for free advice on what you need to know and what you need to do."
(GK/JM)
