ONE of Scotland's top hotels is to carry out its own investigation into how a pedestrian suffered a head injury after being hit by a piece of masonry during a safety check.
Part of Princes Street in Edinburgh was closed, near one of the main access points to the city's festive celebrations, after the man in his 40s was struck by "a piece of spalling" while contractors were working on the five-star Balmoral Hotel.
The man was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment, after the incident at around 10.50am on Friday, although his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
The Health & Safety Executive has been informed about the incident which closed part of Princes Street at just before 10am today.
Eyewitness, Martyn Gifford, who was working outside the landmark 117-year-old hotel at the time of the incident said the masonry “fell an inch from where I was standing” and was told that a representative from the Balmoral would contact him with an official apology.
The Balmoral Hotel has recently completed a multi-million pound refurbishment of its events suites to celebrate Rocco Forte Group’s 20th anniversary. The work involved the upgrading of three main event spaces and the castle view bedrooms.
Hotel executives are to make their own inquiries after the "piece of spalling" fell from the hotel while external contractors were conducting a masonry safety check of the building, In construction 'spalling' refers to the flaking, cracking, peeling, crumbling or chipping of concrete or brickwork, particularly where parts of the surface might be said to have 'blown' off.
A hotel spokesman said. "All work was immediately stopped and we worked closely with Police Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council to ensure that additional precautionary public safety measures were put in place.
"Following the incident the exterior of the building was checked and confirmed safe. The safety and wellbeing of the gentleman involved and the general public is of the highest priority.
"A full investigation will now be carried out with our external contractors.”
Pedestrians and traffic were blocked off in both directions between North Bridge and St Andrews Square as a precaution.
Concerns about masonry falls in Edinburgh date back at least 12 years when it emerged chunks were falling from buildings in the Capital at the rate of one every two days. Edinburgh council then started an awareness blitz aimed at informing homeowners of their responsibilities.
At the time one of the council’s own buildings came under investigation after a large chunk of masonry fell 40ft from the roof of the Church Hill Theatre in Morningside on to the front steps.
Last year a bus passenger was treated for cuts and bruises after a piece of masonry fell on top of a bus close to the Festival Theatre.
In 2000, Australian waitress Christine Foster, 26, was killed by falling masonry outside Ryan’s Bar in Edinburgh's West End.
At the time the council was undertaking a survey of 16,000 structures in the city centre. It set up a phone line for members of the public to report safety fears.
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