Asbestos management consultancy Acorn Analytical Services has appointed Ben James as commercial manager to lead its sales team and secure larger, more complex consultancy and removal projects. James, a former apprentice carpenter and joiner, moved into asbestos work in his early twenties after his grandfather died from asbestosis and has since progressed from trainee asbestos surveyor to contract manager over nine years. He will oversee new technical enquiries, key account management and site visits, and is qualified to deliver asbestos awareness, non-licensed removal and duty-to-manage training under a Level 3 teaching qualification.

Homes on Benbuck View and Dunmoss View in Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire are to be demolished after Mining Remediation Authority investigations confirmed historic underground workings had caused active mine subsidence beneath the two streets. The decision follows visible ground movement reported on 18 May and subsequent detailed geotechnical assessments that ruled out practical stabilisation options for the affected plots. Engineers will now need to manage demolition, backfilling and long-term ground monitoring, with implications for foundations and service corridors on adjacent properties built over former coal measures.

A major fire at LondonEnergy’s Wembley Waste Transfer Station on Hannah Close, Neasden, has required 20 fire engines and about 125 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. The incident at the enclosed waste-handling facility raises immediate concerns over structural integrity of steel frames, cladding performance under high thermal loads, and potential damage to concrete slabs from prolonged heating and quenching. Engineers will need rapid assessment of fire spread pathways through waste stockpiles and building services to inform repairs, resilience upgrades and future fire-separation design.