Mr. Abdul Miah of Misbah Tandoori was ordered to pay the sum of £3,021 for failing to respond to information requests made by South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority (SWFRA) relating to breaches of fire safety within the property.
In June 2021, Business Fire Safety Officers from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) conducted an inspection at Misbah Tandoori Restaurant 9 Priory Street Monmouth NP25 3BR.The inspection identified inadequate fire safety provisions at the premises which resulted in an Enforcement Notice being issued under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 detailing the necessary remedial work required to make the premises safe.
An investigation was undertaken by officers of SWFRS’ Compliance Team where Mr. Miah was identified as the leaseholder of the premises. Throughout the investigation, requests were made for information relating to the fire safety provisions within the premises. These requests were continually ignored and SWFRA had no option but to pursue the matter through the courts.
Mr Miah was subsequently summoned to attend Cwmbran Magistrates Court on 24 November 2022. Mr. Miah pleaded guilty to three offences under Article 27 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and was fined a total of £3,021 including costs.
This fine could have been avoided if Mr. Miah had simply responded with the required information. The investigation into the fire safety contraventions is still ongoing.
Head of Business Fire Safety for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Group Manager St. John Towell, said:
“Our role is to enforce fire safety legislation in premises that fall within the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and ensure that these premises are safe. We do this by working with businesses across South Wales to support them to protect their business from risk. In this instance, we went out of our way to seek out basic information to enable us to follow legal protocols.
The court viewed this matter to be so serious that they imposed the fine. As you can see in this case, the fines and costs received are solely attributed to the failure to provide information. This is a clear message to members of the business community that they need to respond to formal requests made by fire and rescue services.”
