An investigation is underway after architectural cladding fell off a Vinci-built office in Blackpool.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employees at the Fylde View building (pictured) were evacuated following the incident in which a piece of external brise soleil dropped to the pavement from the sixth floor.
No injuries occurred from the fall of the 4.2-metre long, 200 mm-deep object at about 9.45am on Wednesday (7 January).
The pavement beneath the affected area was immediately cordoned off, and secure fencing with ‘no entry’ signage was erected within public spaces to create an exclusion zone around the office entrance.
A DWP spokesperson told Construction News: “The contractor is on site and the building remains closed.
“Action will be taken over the coming days to ensure the safety of the site before staff return.”
In a statement, main contractor Vinci Building said it “apologises” for the incident.
It added: “Clearly this could have caused injury to anyone hit by it and we are sorry for any distress caused and the ongoing impact to the occupiers of the building.
“A full investigation into the incident and why it occurred is now underway.”
An unnamed rope access facade subcontractor was called to site immediately to inspect all brise soleil on the fifth and sixth floors, according to Vinci Building.
“Upon inspection, four further pieces of brise soleil were removed,” it said, adding that its facade engineer and the unnamed supplier of the brise soleil system were inspecting the site.
All brise soleil pieces on the fifth and sixth floors are being removed over the weekend .
Vinci Building said it is also arranging to take down all brise soleil panels from the rest of the structure using cherry pickers, as a “precautionary measure and to provide DWP with the required level of confidence for their employees to safely return to the building”.
In addition, the contractor told CN it was “also undertaking a thorough review to establish the cause of the incident”.
A company spokesperson said the aim was to reopen the building on Monday.
However, weather conditions are difficult in the North West amid Storm Goretti, with the Met Office warning of heavy snow until midday today (9 January).
“If they can’t get it done because of the weather, then we’ll take a view on Monday,” the Vinci spokesperson said.
The seven-storey Fylde View office accommodates about 3,000 DWP staff. It was built by Vinci as the third phase of the broader £350m Talbot Gateway redevelopment scheme around the town’s railway station.
The £100m building opened last May, two months after Vinci completed the main construction phase.
CN approached Blackpool Council and the Health and Safety Executive for comment.
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Ben Vogel