THE manager at Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel in Solihull has been handed a £10,000 after they hotel breached Covid-19 regulations by hosting a funeral party with hundreds of attendees.
As well as the fine, the venue has been banned from holding events until January next year following the funeral gathering last Friday, September 25.
Nine calls were made to the force on Friday night to report the large gathering and loud music at the hotel.
Officers attended and found more than 200 people in attendance.
They were dispersed at 9pm and officers then spoke to staff in a bid to contact the owner or event organiser.
West Midlands 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 these breaches but events continued to be held with no measures in place for track and trace, social distancing or table service.
Watch the video here https://youtu.be/9fwYVKtYyAA to see what officers found when they arrived.
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.
This was granted with a full hearing set for later this month.
The fine comes after Police stepped up their efforts to enforce Covid-19 regulations in a bid to help control the spread of the virus.
With four of our towns and cities in the West Midlands − Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell and Wolverhampton – already under enhanced measures, officers say 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.”
