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The managing agents of the Frenchgate shopping centre in Doncaster are having to pay fines and costs that total over GB pound 25,000, after being found guilty of breaches of fire safety legislation.
The prosecution was brought by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue against the agents BTW Shiells of Belfast, who pleaded guilty to five counts of failing to comply with their duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
On a visit to the centre last June, fire officers determined that the fire safety management team on site was sufficiently depleted to undermine its ability to carry out appropriate fire precautions. Further investigations raised what South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFR) described as “significant concerns” about the adequacy of the remaining staff’s fire safety training and the suitability of the fire risk assessment for the premises.This led to SYFR serving an enforcement notice and the subsequent prosecution. The enforcement notice has since been withdrawn as all issues it refers to have now been resolved.
BTW Shiells was found guilty of failing to:
- take adequate general fire precautions
- make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to relevant persons
- give effect to appropriate preventative and protective measures
- appoint adequate competent persons to undertake preventative and protective measures
- provide adequate safety training for staff.
“This case clearly demonstrates how our inspection team will not shy away from our duty to apply fire safety law in all relevant buildings to help ensure the safety of our community,” said station manager Chris Mellors. “South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue is committed to working closely with businesses to help them with their compliance duties under fire safety law but where their responsibilities are not taken seriously, the service will, where necessary, take enforcement action – particularly in cases such as this where large numbers of the public may be affected by a company’s shortfalls.”
In response, BTW Shiells told FSE:
“Whilst we accept the findings of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority, these issues were addressed almost a year ago during a period of change between the previous owners and the current owners. Once these matters were identified by the fire authority, immediate action was taken to resolve the issues and the Notice was subsequently withdrawn. All issues identified have been resolved.
“We continue to work closely with South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority in partnership to ensure a safe environment for our customers. At no time during this period were lives at risk.”