A local property firm has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for putting its workers' lives at risk by allowing them to work in an unsupported excavation.
HSE inspectors made an unannounced visit to the site on Trafford Road, Alderley Edge in August 2010 where Huntmere were developing a luxury five bedroom mansion.
The HSE inspectors issued an immediate Prohibition Notice, ordering two workers to leave the excavation for the foundations, which were approximately 20 metres wide and over 5 metres deep, until the site had been made safe.
Macclesfield Magistrates' Court was told the workers were put at risk of being buried, trapped, crushed or struck by rock if part of the excavation collapsed.
Structural support was not provided to the sides of the excavation pit, which were partly made of soft, sandy clay, and the sides had not been sufficiently battered back to a safe angle.
A large heap of soil had also been placed close to the edge of the pit and excavator track marks showed a digger had been driven along the rim of the excavation, increasing the risk of it collapsing.
The court heard no barriers or fencing had been erected to keep vehicles away from the edge, or prevent workers being injured in a fall.
Huntsmere pleaded guilty to breaching regulations by failing to prevent workers being put in danger. The company was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £3,837 in prosecution costs.
Speaking after the hearing, the investigating inspector at HSE, Catherine Willars, said: "The lives of the people working on this project were put in danger due to the very real risk of the excavation collapsing.
"Huntsmere Projects controlled the site and all the work being carried out on it, but the company failed to implement the necessary safety measures and ignored its own procedures for making excavations safe.
"This prosecution should alert the construction industry to the risk of legal action where health and safety on a site falls way below acceptable standards."
Chris Oakes, Director at Huntsmere, said "The position is nowhere near as cut and dried as is reported by the HSE. Their issue was that the sides of the excavation were not battered back in the way they would usually expect. This was because it was not a solely sand or clay based ground. All four sides to the excavation had a very high content of rock, which does not require battering back at all. This can clearly be seen from the photograph.
"In August 2010, the HSE were undertaking spot checks on construction sites in the area and when they arrived at the property they were unhappy with the excavation. We accepted their prohibition notice and immediately ceased work. We put our engineer in touch with theirs to discuss the technical solution devised. There was a difference of opinion.
"However, the HSE were not happy and we felt that the best solution was to work with them and undertake the additional battering works that they requested. This did not mean that we agreed that the battering back was unsafe, presented a danger etc. We undertook the work and the construction concluded without incident.
"When they issued the summons, we took the view that whilst this was a borderline technical breach, it was not in the interests of the company to have a battle with the HSE. We cooperated with them and accepted this technical offence.
"There was no evidence of any slippage of ground, any water presence in the excavation and there was no incident or injury. We have adapted our company's Health & Safety Policy to accommodate the HSE views on excavations in ground with a high rock content."
Huntsmere specialises in creating luxurious mansions in Alderley Edge, Prestbury, Wilmslow and Mottram-St-Andrew, which sell for millions of pounds.
To date the award winning company, which is owned by former barrister Chris Oakes, has delivered more than £20m worth of completed homes in the last eighteen months alone, and have projects in the pipeline exceeding a further £60m.
