Whitehall Road: Council says crane 'fault' in Leeds reported to safety bosses after offices evacuated

There were dramatic scenes in Whitehall Road yesterday (November 14) afternoon, when the emergency services rushed to a new development on the banks of the River Aire after what police described as an “industrial incident”.

Workers in the neighbouring Wellington Place office development were evacuated, causing significant traffic delays as cars tried to leave the city centre. There were also delays to train services. A significant stretch of Whitehall Road was closed in the early afternoon, although it reopened at around 7pm.

Bowmer and Kirkland, the principal contractor of the under-construction Whitehall Riverside development where the problem was reported, confirmed that it came after engineers “identified a fault with one of our site cranes”.

Now, Leeds City Council has told the YEP that yesterday’s incident has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive.

In a statement, the authority said: “Upon the declaration of a major incident at Whitehall Waterfront yesterday, we worked with emergency services to put in place the necessary road closures immediately and update the public through all appropriate channels.

"Nearby premises were evacuated and roads remained closed until the area was made safe and all those who had been displaced had departed safely. The incident has now been referred to the Health and Safety Executive.”