MILLIONAIRE property developer Mike Holland and his foreman will be sentenced today for manslaughter.
Holland and Grant Oakes were convicted in June in connection with the death of carpenter David Clark.
Mr Clark sustained serious head injuries when he fell through a first floor void while working on Stanmer Park Stables in September 2014. He died later in hospital.
Holland, owner and sole director of Cherrywood Investments Ltd, and Oakes, the site foreman, were both found guilty of manslaughter due to gross negligence following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.
The pair, along with the company, were also convicted of health and safety offences.
The court heard work on the site had previously been stopped following an inspection by the Health and Safety Executive in September 2013, after it found extremely poor standards in relation to working at height.
It noted numerous openings on the first floor, through which anyone working could fall several metres.
They also found inadequate health and safety training had been undertaken.
Following this, Oakes attended training, including some specifically related to ensuring the safety of those working at height.
However, despite this and additional advice from the Health and Safety Executive, standards subsequently deteriorated at the site, leading to Mr Clark’s fall. See tomorrow’s Argus for a full report.
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