Hotel manager fined £10,000 after breaching Covid-19 rules with large funeral gathering
A West Midlands hotel manager has been fined £10,000 – after his hotel breached Covid-19 regulations by hosting a funeral gathering attended by more than 200 people.
The Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel, in Solihull, has also been banned from holding events until January following the gathering on September 25.
Nine calls were made to West Midlands Police that night to report the large gathering and loud music at the hotel. Officers attended and found more than 200 people in attendance who were all then dispersed at 9pm. Police then spoke to staff at the hotel in a bid to contact the owner or event organiser.
Police say last Friday's gathering was the latest in a number of events at the Solihull hotel which breached legislation. The manager had been previously warned about the breaches, but events continued to be held with no measures in place for track and trace, social distancing or table service.
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On Monday, West Midlands Police filed an application for an immediate licencing review with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council asking for an immediate suspension of the hotel owner’s personal licence pending a full review. It was granted by the licensing panel and a full hearing is due to take place later this month.
The fine comes after police stepped up efforts to enforce Covid-19 regulations in a bid to help control the spread of the virus.
With four of the region's towns and cities − Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell and Wolverhampton – already under enhanced measures, a spokesman for the force said they will continue to focus on those areas with the highest infection rate and the lowest compliance.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Claire Bell, who is leading the force’s response to coronavirus, said: “We are living in difficult times and we understand people want to celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed. However, we must all play our part to follow the rules which are in place to help stop the spread of the virus and to keep everybody safe.
“We engaged with all those at the funeral gathering and explained why they needed to leave which they duly did.
“It is the hotel manager who has been penalised for repeatedly organising events that breach the Covid-19 legislation – his actions have blatantly disregarded measures to keep people safe in a pandemic.
“Businesses have a responsibility not only to their customers and their staff but to the wider community and there must be consequences when Covid-19 guidance is simply ignored.”
She added: “Our officers continue to patrol transport hubs, retail outlets, education establishments, hospitality venues and open spaces to remind people of the measures in place, and issue fines to those breaching them.
“We are taking a tougher stance on those breaching the restrictions. These regulations are law and we will continue to issue fines to those found flouting them.
“We understand that some of the regulations are confusing and we will be explaining where we find breaches, but if people continually flout these measures, we will not hesitate to take action.”
