Coventry Magistrates have fined a city hotel more than £50,000 after admitting a catalogue of health and safety failings (Photos on Flickr).
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The incidents at the Allesley Hotel, Birmingham Road, Allesley Village, put staff and customers, the court heard.
They included collapsible tables stacked on top of each other as a working platform to hang chandeliers and fire exits found locked or blocked.
Environmental Health officers from Coventry City Council visited the hotel after being contacted by a member of the public in December 2010 raising concerns after attending an event at the venue.
They found the event had been held in a partially refurbished function room where newly tiled floor was missing edging tiles and floor grates were uneven causing slip and trip hazards.
The access to the kitchen from the function room was through an area full of building materials with rubble covering the floor and the entrance covered with a bed sheet.
A number of subsequent visits were made to the premises and further health and safety issues were found as the hotel was undergoing a major refurbishment while remaining open to the public and guests.
The directors of the hotel had not ensured there was sufficient management of health and safety and there were no risk assessments or health and safety documentation for the premises.
During subsequent visits over a period of six months officers found rooms and corridors full of furniture and building materials which were accessible to staff and guests alike exposing them to trip hazards.
Main guest areas were being refurbished while open to members of the public and guests and fire exits were found locked or blocked with building materials and furniture.
It was found that some previous issues had been resolved however there were over riding concerns about the refurbishment works that were not being adequately managed by the hotel directors.
In May last year a member of the public who had stayed at the hotel and had concerns about the premises contacted Coventry City Council to complain.
Officers visited the premises and during the visit took further evidence with regard to health and safety contraventions.
During the visit officers noted that there was a lone person working on the edge of a roof parapet wall, approximately 30 feet above ground level, who was not wearing any fall arrest equipment.
In a function room officers witnessed workers using collapsible tables stacked on top of each other as a working platform to hang chandeliers. These working at height offences put workers at serious risk of injury.
At Coventry Magistrates, Talash Hotels Ltd – trading as the Allesley Hotel – pleaded guilty to eight health and safety charges relating to failure to protect employees, members of the public and guests.
The company was fined £5,000 for each of seven offences and £7,000 for one charge under the Working at Height Regulations 2005.
Full costs were awarded bringing the total amount to £50,256, with a £15 victim surcharge, to be paid at £2,000 in 7 days and the balance at £2,000 per month thereafter.
Councillor Rachel Lancaster, Chair of Coventry’s Community Safety Scrutiny Board, said any health and safety breaches were taken extremely seriously.
She said: “This case demonstrates that although health and safety issues can be portrayed as something silly, at its heart is the protection of the public and employees from the unsafe actions of some employers.
“Health and safety is a matter that Coventry City Council takes seriously. While officers endeavour to offer business support and advise wherever possible, where that fails or where conditions are especially poor, we will take the necessary action to protect our citizens and visitors to the city.”
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