Press release: Planned roadworks in East Midlands: weekly summary for Monday 23 January to Sunday 29 January 2017

Media wanting information about Highways England’s routine maintenance projects should, in the first instance, check our website.

The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of 20 January but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with the aim of causing as little disruption as possible.

M1 junction 28 to 35a, Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire/Yorkshire: smart motorway

Until winter 2016, there will be various restrictions in place on the M1 between junctions 28 and 35a to allow for the construction of the smart motorway. These include lane closures, speed restrictions, hard shoulder running and overnight slip road or carriageway closures.

This week, the following closures will be in place:

  • Monday 23 January, the northbound entry and exit slip roads at junction 31 and the northbound exit slip road at junction 33, will be closed overnight from 8pm until 6am
  • Tuesday 24 January, the southbound entry and exit slip roads at junction 29, the northbound entry and exit slip roads at junction 30, the northbound exit slip road at junction 33, the southbound entry slip road at junction 33, the southbound exit slip road at junction 32 and the northbound exit slip road at junction 35 will be closed overnight from 8pm until 6am
  • Wednesday 25 January, the northbound entry and exit slip roads at junction 29, the northbound entry and exit slip roads at junction 30, the southbound exit slip road at junction 32 and the northbound exit slip road at junction 33 will be closed overnight from 8pm until 6am
  • Thursday 26 January, the northbound entry and exit slip roads at junction 29a, the southbound entry and exit slip road at junction 31 and the southbound entry slip road at junction 33 will be closed overnight from 8pm until 6am
  • Friday 27 January, the Woodall Motorway Service Area entry and exit slip roads, the southbound entry and exit slip road at junction 30, the southbound entry and exit slip road at junction 33 will all be closed overnight from 8pm until 6am
  • Saturday 28 January, the southbound up and over at junction 34 and the southbound junction 33 up and over will be closed overnight from 8pm until 6am

Diversions will be clearly signposted.

M1 junction 19, Leicestershire: road improvement scheme

On Monday 23, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 January, the A14 to M1 northbound link road together with lane 1 of the A14 westbound leading to it, lane 1 of the A14 westbound from junction 2 to junction 1 and lane 1 of the M1 northbound through junction 19 will be closed overnight between 9pm and 6am.

On Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January, lane 1 of A14 westbound together with the A14 to M1 northbound link road, the A14 eastbound from Catthorpe junction to junction 1, lanes 2 and 3 of the M6 southbound together with the M6 to A14 eastbound link road, lane 1 of the M1 southbound together with the M1 to A14 eastbound link road and lane 1 of the M1 northbound through junction 19 will be closed overnight between 9pm and 6am. In all cases diversion routes will be clearly signposted.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.



Three construction companies fined after worker fall

Three companies from Essex have been fined after a worker fell over seven meters through a fragile roof he was replacing.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard how Rafal Myslim was standing on the fragile roof at Dengie Crops Ltd in Asheldem, when the asbestos sheeting gave way and he fell 7.5m onto a concrete floor, hitting a number of pipes within the building on the way down. There was no safety netting or other protective equipment to prevent him from falling and he suffered a hematoma on the brain.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found three companies at fault for the fall. Dengie Crops Ltd contracted Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd, who are an agricultural machinery supplier, to help the company replace their roof . Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd did not have the appropriate experience and subcontracted the work to Balsham (Buildings) Ltd who worked out how the roof replacement should take place. Balsham then subcontracted the actual replacement of the roof to Strong Clad Ltd.

Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd were unable to act effectively in their role as principal contractor because they had no experience of working in construction. They could not effectively oversee Balsham (Buildings) Ltd plans that had highlighted the risk of a fall. None of the parties involved put in place safety measures for 40% of the roof that did not have netting below. They relied too heavily on the verbal briefings to workers reminding them of where the netting was rather than putting in place effective safety measures for the whole roof.

Ernest Doe & sons Ltd, of Ulting, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. They were fined £360,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000

Balsham (Buildings) Ltd, of Balsham, Cambridge, pleaded guilty to breaching 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005. They were fined £45,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,000

Strong Clad Ltd, of Castle Hedingham, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005. They were fined £7,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000

HSE inspector Adam Hills said: “The dangers of working on fragile roofs are well documented. Every year too many people are killed or seriously injured due to falls from height while carrying out this work.

“Work at height requires adequate planning, organisation and communication between all parties. This incident was entirely preventable and Mr Myslim is lucky to be alive.”

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk[1]
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ link to external website[2]
  3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases.



Public warned of H7N9 avian flu after nine deaths

Chinese disease control experts said that the public should stay on alert for H7N9 avian flu, which has caused at least nine deaths this year.

H7N9 has entered its peak season and direct contact with live poultry remains the main source of infection, said a statement by Zhejiang provincial disease control and prevention center Tuesday.

Genetic analysis showed that there had been no mutations of the virus, but since late Autumn last year the epidemic had been reported in a wide range of areas, it said.

The virus was more active in 2016 than in the same seasons in previous years. A total of 44 cases were reported last year in Zhejiang, causing two deaths.

H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in March 2013 in China. It is most likely to strike in winter and spring.

At least nine people died from the virus since the start of this year, according to disease control centers in Henan, Guangdong and Hunan provinces.

On Tuesday, health authorities in Henan province announced two deaths from the virus, respectively on Jan. 23 and 24. Both patients had worked at restaurants prior to the infections.



CMs Committee on Digital Payments presents interim report to the Prime Minister

The CMs Committee on Digital Payments led by the convener and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri Chandra Babu Naidu submitted the interim report on Digital Payments to the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today. Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim along with the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog Shri Arvind Panagariya and CEO NITI Aayog Shri Amitabh Kant were present o



News story: Communications framework attracts small businesses

The new Communications Services framework has proved extremely popular with suppliers, resulting in a number of small businesses signing up to work with government for the first time.

The Government Communications Service (GCS) published the list of communications agencies that have been selected to help deliver ground-breaking government and public sector campaigns over the next 4 years earlier this month.

Of the 67 agencies selected for the new framework, 69% are small or medium-sized businesses, 22 are based outside of London and 44 are new to government business. These companies will now be eligible to bid and play key roles in cutting edge campaigns on topics ranging from public health to armed forces recruitment and promoting apprenticeships.

The Communications Services framework complements the Campaign Solutions framework announced in December.

Designed to to help public bodies tap into the very best expertise and talent in the communications industry, the 2 frameworks provide a flexible approach to working collaboratively with agencies to design and deliver innovative solutions for your campaigns.

Campaign Solutions offers a choice of 27 agencies, half of which are SMEs, who will be able to design, plan and deliver entire campaigns.

David Skinner, Crown Commercial Service’s Director of Corporate Solutions said:

A wide variety of innovative, exciting and talented agencies are now on the framework, including many small businesses.

This will provide public sector bodies with the tailored, specialist and flexible advice they need to develop cutting edge campaigns.

Both frameworks were developed in conjunction with GCS. GCS involved around 600 agencies and ran 5 events across the country to shape the new frameworks in a way that will work better for everyone and benefit UK citizens.

In this financial year the GCS is expected to deliver around 100 campaigns.