Владельцы гостиницы в Херефордшире отказываются от сдачи номеров из-за стоимости приведения в соответствие с нормами пожарной безопасности

New owners of a previously disused pub and hotel in a scenic part of Herefordshire say it is hardly worth making rooms available to guests again, given the huge cost of making them fire safety compliant. Last month fire safety inspectors imposed a prohibition notice on the Crown, Whitchurch in the Wye Valley National Landscape, preventing it being used for “sleeping and or resting”. “There is no working fire alarm to alert people in the event of fire,” their report said. “The means of escape from sleeping areas is not suitable and sufficient.” RELATED NEWS : - Wellington Inn hit with prohibition notice by fire service - Harewood End Inn, Herefordshire, fire prohibition notice - Fire safety prohibitions for Herefordshire businesses The prohibition notice is still listed as in force on the National Fire Chiefs Council Enforcement Register. But owner Theresa Gwillim, on whom the notice was served, said that this had arisen from a risk assessment carried out there in advance of potentially bringing the rooms back into use. “We are a new business, just since March, and the rooms are not occupied,” she confirmed. What are your thoughts? You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here. Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence. “We are giving it a full refurb, and while the pub is already open, we are trying to work out whether it’s worth letting the five rooms. “We have been told it will cost around £25,000 for a full fire alarm system, so we probably won’t.” Before Ms Gwillim and her partner took on the inn, it had been unoccupied for around two years, having previously traded as the Whitchurch Spice Tandoori Indian Restaurant and Takeaway. OTHER NEWS : - Eight homes by busy road in scenic area refused - Planning battle over traveller site in orchard goes to appeal - Town faces new election after ex-councillor's "frustrating" experience Other hotels and guest accommodation in the county have recently fallen foul of fire safety inspections. Earlier this year Giles Goodhew, landlord at the Wellington Inn near Colwall, was hit with a fire safety prohibition notice preventing use of the inn’s guest flat, which he claimed was “ridiculous”. He said installing a fire detection system recommended by the fire service would cost him £16,000, which was “not feasible in this financial situation”.