Child safety paramount in building design
Sheriff Stephen's recommendations, published in her determination at the end of the fatal accident inquiry into the death of 21-month-old Ben McCreath, should now be studied by architects and the commercial property industry.
Given the circumstances of the toddler's death – he fell from the first-floor balcony of a modern Edinburgh office – a call for compulsory new safety measures for all offices, old and new, would have been understandable.
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Hide AdThe fact that Sheriff Stephen has not made such a call should not be taken as an excuse for inaction. The "100mm rule", under which railings are not constructed with a gap big enough for a young child to slip through, should be enforced in every new office development.
But if not a statutory obligation, there should be a moral obligation for owners of older offices to test their railings and designs and to make changes if there is any possibility of a repeat of this kind of accident.
Ben's mother Louise McCreath last night said she was "content" with the sheriff's recommendation on building laws. As she lost a son, that is all she can be. But builders, architects and the owners of offices must ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.