Miller Homes urges Midlands families to have a safe summer

Miller Homes East Midlands is helping to spread the safety message this summer by encouraging children not to treat building sites like playgrounds.

With an outstanding safety record and some of the safest construction sites in the UK, the award-winning housebuilder is well placed to educate youngsters about potential hazards, helping families across the region enjoy a risk-free summer holiday.

Malcolm Ceney, production director at Miller Homes East Midlands, commented: “Building sites may look like exciting places, but they definitely aren’t a suitable place to play.

“Our own building sites are areas carefully planned for the purpose of the safe and efficient construction of affordable, quality new homes and we do everything that we can to ensure the highest possible standards. However, they’re designed for trained construction professionals.

“Building sites are very busy places, and as such, they can often be full of scaffolding, machinery and building materials, which may look like adventurous obstacles for children to climb on. But, in the wrong hands, this equipment can prove very dangerous indeed.

To help spread the safety message, Malcolm has put together some pointers of potential building site dangers:

• Scaffolding and ladders may appear to be the best climbing frame in the world for children, but it is worth remembering that falling from even the first storey can lead to serious injury.

• There are often several excavations or holes on a site, especially during the early stages of a build. If you are not used to the building site environment, they present a potential risk as some of them can be tens of feet deep and can part-fill with water on rainy days.

• Although plant and machinery on site will always be switched off when not in use, there is a possibility that it could move if manipulated – and as these machines are very heavy, they can be extremely dangerous.

• Building materials such as bricks, breeze blocks and roof trusses will always be stored safely around building sites. However, they are not designed to be clambered on and could collapse if too much weight is put on them.

Malcolm added: “We try and do as much work in the communities surrounding our developments as possible and we invite as many local schools as we can for supervised building site tours. They’re a great way for children to learn about the safe construction of new homes and how a building site is managed.

“Our building sites are all well-secured to deter trespassers and keep members of the public safe. We have some great locations across the East Midlands for children to play during the warm summer months, from country parks to inner-city recreational areas, so I would encourage youngsters to make the most of these great assets to our region.”

Details of all developments available from Miller Homes East Midlands can be found at: millerhomes.co.uk