Government urged to publish ‘essential sites’ list – New Civil Engineer

The UK government is being urged to follow Scotlands lead and close all but essential construction sites in England and Wales.

Scotland announced a list of essential sites yesterday, bringing an immediate stop to work on the majority of the countrys construction projects.

New Civil Engineer understands that the UK government is poised to follow suit, and has been consulting industry bodies about a list of essential sites since last week.

However, the government has been reluctant to publish the list or introduce stricter controls on the construction sector thus far.

Construction groups are now urging the UK government to see sense and close non-essential construction sites.

Federation of Master Builder (FMB) chief executive Brian Berry said: It is almost impossible to follow Public Health Englands social distancing advice on many sites, and it would therefore be safer to close them".

The government has already advised that non-essential construction sites to close down, but has stopped short of defining what is essential.

However, the Scottish government is now being much more prescriptive announcing which sites should remain open and which should close.

Work on domestic housing, education institutions and office buildings are among those which must now be closed north of the border. Certain health and transport jobs are deemed essential and are allowed to stay open.

If sites can be safely completed within 5 working days they can be completed.

Road works and some energy related jobs will go forward. The Scottish government warned any projects can only continue operating if they can comply with the guidance on the safety and welfare of people.

Work on hospitals in Edinburgh and Glasgow including the Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh and the refurbishment job on the Childrens Hospital in Glasgow will also go ahead.

Sites which need to close in Scotland

Sites that can stay open in Scotland

The Scottish Government website has the full explanation of the new regulations.

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Government urged to publish 'essential sites' list - New Civil Engineer