Posted By Mark Eden If a Parish Council look after an open area in trust for residents of the parish and they don't maintain it (except cutting of the grass) and they then claim it needs a tremendous amount of work to be carried out on it (the digging up of WWII beach defences (5ft concrete cubes), and then fill the holes with enert material offered by a contractor for nothing!) for safety reasons, and rent it out to various organisations in the mean time, are they in breech of HSWA sec 3 if they do nothing more than put up signs saying the surface is a danger by being uneven ?

Posted By Stephen Boardman Hi Mark, as per previous response HASAWA is for work. However in the event of an accident I believe they would be liable under the occupiers liability act, signage is not adequate, it does not take into account the blind or partial sighted nor does it take into account people who cannot read English or cannot read at all. there have been many cases under occupiers liability. Not a definitive answer I know but with the limited information you have given it should guide you in the right direction. Regards Steve

Posted By Jack Re relevence of HASAWA, it depends on whether they are an employer. Some are. Some are not.

Posted By Heather Aston Re S3 HASAWA, note that the "other persons" who are covered by this also have to be at work. It's really intended to cover contractors and the self-employed who work on premises belonging to another employer. S4 covers the duties of controllers of premises towards those who use the premises - this would include memebers of the public. Heather

Posted By George Wedgwood My feeling on this would be to contact the District Council legal office and seek an opinion as many Parish Council obligations are obtuse and not easily interpreted directly through Statute as applicable to employers. As a former PC Chair, I was always aware that safety of the PC property was important and that the Parish Council had to have regular reports on condition and also budget for maintenance and any deterioration or vandanism aspects, so that the public could not be unreasonably compromised by any failing on the PCs part. When in doubt, get a Town or District engineerrs' report or legal advice before wasting PC money and then you can always request special assistance if it is seen to be a major issue - Districts have a little contingency to help Parishes in need. If in doubt - fence it off and post warning notices against entry due to unsafe conditions. Regards, George

Posted By Mark Eden Thank you for your help on this one but I think I have found the answer in the occupiers liability act, again may thanks