After a woman and her four-year-old daughter were injured when glass fell from the roof of the Westfield Shopping Centre (or Eagle Centre as people will continue to refer to it), health and safety experts have assured shoppers that they believe the centre is safe. The Burrows Walk section, near Woolworths, where the incident happened, reopened after safety netting was put up to protect shoppers from anything falling from the roof.
Mesh netting is also being installed under all glazing panels at the centre while the review is taking place. Glazing sub-contractors appointed by Westfield have examined the framework around the windows and have not found any faults. They also examined the windows yesterday and the broken glass has been taken away for further analysis. Environmental health manager Mike Kay said the city council was satisfied with the progress of the investigation. He said, "They have still not been able to identify why that glazing fell down. No problems have been identified with the framework of the glazing. The glass itself is now being looked at and we will know more after that."
A Westfield spokeswoman confirmed that appropriate safety measures had been taken and a review of safety controls was being carried out and said, "Both the inspections and analysis are being undertaken by expert consultants appointed by Westfield. Until the results of the investigation are known, as a precaution Westfield has already started to implement various protective measures, which includes the installation of a fine mesh netting directly below all glazing panels in the centre."
It is the second incident of this kind at Westfield in the space of four months. The first happened when two panes of glass fell from the ceiling in Copecastle Square. No one was injured. Mr Kay said the city council started an investigation into that incident and discovered that a supply pipe had either split or burst, which had released stones on to the windows. That caused the glass to shatter and fall to the floor. The investigation was then passed on to the Health and Safety Executive as a construction-related issue. An HSE spokeswoman said it did not pursue the matter because it did not meet their criteria for further investigation.(Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, May/07)
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