Investigations underway after worker falls at Echo site

Parties redeveloping the former newspaper headquarters on Liverpool’s Old Hall Street are working with authorities to establish how a construction worker sustained serious injuries.

The worker fell from height at the Echo Building development site and suffered serious injuries to his head, back and leg on Thursday, Merseyside Police has confirmed. As of this morning, he remains in hospital in a stable condition and the matter is being dealt with by the Health and Safety Executive.

The main contractor is Dublin-based Mac Group, which told Place North West: “We can confirm that an incident has occurred on one of our projects but at this stage of investigations we are unable to comment further.

“Injuries sustained are not life-threatening and we, along with our sub-contractors, are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities.”

Merseyside Police said in a statement last week: “We can confirm that emergency services are in Liverpool city centre following an incident this morning, Thursday 3rd June.

“At around 10.20am, the North West ambulance service and police officers were called to a building site on Old Hall Street following reports that a male in his 30s had fallen from height.

“The man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries to his head, back and legs. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”

The man is understood to have fallen down a lift shaft.

The Old Hall Street site in the city centre contains the former offices of the Liverpool Daily Post and Liverpool Echo. It is being transformed by developers Select Group and Paradigm Asset Management into a scheme called Echo Place, which features a 207-bedroom four-star Innside hotel, offices and 26,000 sq ft of retail on the ground floor.

The Liverpool Echo, which subsumed the Post, vacated the building in 2018, moving 300 staff into a 25,000 sq ft space at 5 St Paul’s Square.

Telecoms and technology firm Sony confirmed in 2019 it would relocate 500 staff from Wavertree Technology Park to 65,000 sq ft across three floors at Echo Place.

The scheme is due to complete this summer.

Last month, a 53-year-old man and his 18-year-old son both died after a construction lift fell at the Unity buildings development site in Rumford Place, Liverpool.