Telford shopkeeper stunned by fire safety notice work costing ‘three months’ profit’
A Telford shopkeeper was stunned to receive a fire safety prohibition notice that means he has to pay the equivalent of three months profit to get corrective work done.
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Gurmale Bhakar, who has run Finger Road Stores, in Dawley, with his wife for nine years, says Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service has visited before but “never said anything before” about a sleeping area.
Mr Bhakar said: “I don’t know how they can treat people like this. We have been here for nine years and the shop was run for 30 years before then and this hasn’t happened before.
“The upstairs is for a member of staff, it is not a house of multiple occupation. I could understand if it was but it is a personal use flat. I don’t receive any income on it.
“We run the shop on a lease where we have to pay for internal works like this and to carry out the work on fire doors will cost us £5,000 which is three months’ profit.
“I don’t know how they expect you to do it.”
A spokesperson for Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service said its officers identified “non compliance with fire safety legislation” during a “multi-agency visit” to the shop.
“Following an assessment, it was determined that if the premises were used for sleeping, the fire risk would be so severe that such use should be prohibited. As a result, a Prohibition Notice was issued to remove this risk.”
The fire service spokesperson said the premises will be subject to follow-up visits, audits, and further enforcement actions as necessary, “in accordance with Shropshire Fire and Rescue’s enforcement procedures.”
A notice about the prohibition notice was placed on a national enforcement register on February 27, 2025. The notice was issued to the property owners.
It reads: “Lack of protection to the means of escape and lack of detection and warning. There is no protected means of escape from the upper floor.
“There is also no means of detecting a fire and giving warning to those using the upper floor.
“The premises must not be used for sleeping. The first floor may only be used for storage.
“Remedial work to address the deficiencies is permitted once a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment of the risks posed to all relevant persons has been undertaken.”
The Enforcement Register provides details of statutory notices served by various Fire and Rescue Authorities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended).
Notices remain on the register under the auspices of the National Fire Chiefs Council for a period of three years unless still in force, deemed not complied with, or withdrawn by the serving authority.
