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    Safety

    Asbestos disturbance prosecutions: CDM and demolition lessons for engineers

    March 10, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Asbestos disturbance prosecutions: CDM and demolition lessons for engineers

    First reported on The Construction Index

    30 Second Briefing

    Fines exceeding £90,000 and a 26‑week suspended prison sentence have been imposed after 218 m² of asbestos-containing materials and debris were illegally disturbed and cleared at a demolition site on Greenheath Road, Cannock. Sohan Group Limited was fined £74,900 for failing to appoint a principal contractor under CDM 2015, while Maize Metals Limited was fined £13,400 for proceeding with demolition despite an asbestos management survey identifying ACMs. Unlicensed contractor Disa Properties’ representative, Ali Raza Baig, received a suspended custodial sentence, five-year director disqualification and curfew for arranging unlicensed asbestos removal.

    Technical Brief

    • Refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey identified 218 m² of asbestos-containing materials and debris on site.
    • HSE inspector’s visit on 7 September 2023 followed concerns about unsafe demolition activities.
    • Initial asbestos management survey had already identified asbestos-containing materials before any demolition commenced.
    • Despite obtaining a quote from a licensed asbestos removal contractor, Sohan Group appointed unlicensed Disa Properties instead.
    • Neither Disa Properties nor its representative, Ali Raza Baig, held an asbestos licence or demonstrated competence.
    • Baig failed to implement basic exposure controls, including measures to prevent fibre release and off-site spread.
    • Sohan Group admitted breaching CDM 2015 Regulation 5(4) regarding failure to appoint a principal contractor.
    • Maize Metals and Baig both pleaded guilty to breaching CDM 2015 Regulation 15(2) on construction phase management.
    • Sentencing included an electronically monitored 19:00–07:00 curfew for three months and five-year director disqualification.
    • Case reinforces that demolition and refurbishment works must be planned around asbestos surveys, licensing and CDM dutyholder roles.

    Our Take

    With 20 tradespeople a week in the UK still dying from historic asbestos exposure, HSE’s willingness to pursue criminal sanctions here signals that even relatively small property portfolios in the Midlands can expect close scrutiny of refurbishment and demolition practices.

    Among the 37 Hazards stories in our coverage, asbestos-related prosecutions remain a minority, so the director ban and suspended custodial sentence in this Birmingham Magistrates’ Court case are likely to be cited as a benchmark when contractors and landlords negotiate allocation of asbestos-management responsibilities.

    For operators with mixed industrial and commercial assets in areas like Cannock, Essington and West Bromwich, this case underlines that failing to commission or follow competent asbestos surveys over areas as large as 200+ m² can escalate quickly from a compliance issue into personal liability for directors.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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