Project Overview
GB Specialist Access Solutions was engaged to design and install a permanent, compliant means of roof access at a Grade II listed building in London. The building needed a safe way for maintenance teams to reach roof level — but as a listed structure, anything bolted to it had to protect both the people using it and the historic fabric it was fixed to.
The solution was a Fallprotec SafeLadder Pro: a fixed aluminium access ladder with an integrated fall-arrest rail, installed to provide genuine fall protection with minimal visual impact.
The Access Challenge
Two constraints shaped this job.
First, heritage. On a Grade II listed building, a bulky galvanised cage ladder is both visually intrusive and difficult to justify against a protected façade. The access solution had to be discreet, sympathetic to the building, and fixed with minimal, carefully considered intervention.
Second, real fall protection. Traditional cage ladders are widely misunderstood — a cage does little to actually arrest a fall, and in many cases simply obstructs rescue. For a building requiring regular roof access, that’s not good enough. The critical risk points — the climb itself and the transition from ladder to roof — needed a system that genuinely holds a climber in the event of a slip.
Providing Specialist Safety Solutions
GB Specialist Access Solutions specified and installed the Fallprotec SafeLadder Pro — an aluminium fixed ladder with the fall-arrest rail built directly into the ladder upright, certified to EN 353-1:2018.
The climber connects to a GRANVIA4 trolley that runs smoothly up the integrated rail and locks instantly in the event of a fall, with a built-in energy absorber limiting the arrest force on the body to 6kN. Because the rail is undeformable, a fall is stopped in place, exactly where it happens.
Crucially for a listed structure, the SafeLadder Pro’s wide range of fixing brackets allowed our team to mount the ladder sympathetically to the existing building — positioning fixings carefully and keeping the intervention to a minimum. The system also provides a controlled, protected transition from the ladder onto the roof, securing one of the most hazardous moments of any roof access.
As an approved Fallprotec installer, GB Specialist Access Solutions handled the whole process end to end: site survey, access design, installation, and handover — a single accountable contractor from first visit to certified system.
Full Compliance with Work at Height Regulations
The finished installation gives the building something a cage ladder never could: a fixed access route with a certified, integrated fall-arrest system behind every climb. The aluminium construction is light, corrosion-resistant, and far more discreet than traditional steelwork—an important consideration for a listed façade.
Our trained operatives carried out the installation in full compliance with the Work at Height Regulations 2005, with harness-based fall protection throughout and minimal disruption to the building and its occupants. Installed cleanly and quickly, the SafeLadder Pro avoids the cost, programming, and visual impact of scaffolding a heritage building to achieve the same result.
The Result
The client now has a permanent, EN 353-1-compliant means of roof access that is safer, cleaner, and more sympathetic to the listed fabric than the alternatives — ready for ongoing maintenance and inspection for years to come. Real fall protection, delivered discreetly on a building where appearance matters.
Need Safe, Compliant Access at Height?
Whether it’s a fixed fall-arrest ladder, a horizontal lifeline, guardrail, or a full roof-access strategy, GB Specialist Access Solutions designs, installs and certifies fall protection systems across the UK — including on heritage and listed buildings. As an approved Fallprotec installer, we deliver certified systems from survey to sign-off.
Looking to make access at height safe and compliant? Get in touch.
📞 020 335 54311 | 👉 www.gbspecialistaccess.co.uk