Council to prosecute Quality Hotel owners

Plymouth City Council are to start legal proceedings to prosecute the owners of the Quality Hotel after they failed to comply with an Untidy Land Notice.

The derelict Quality Hotel, dubbed an “eyesore” by concerned residents, has been subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour over several years so the Council was forced to take tough action with owners.

The notice which expired at midnight on the Monday 10 August meant the owners had to complete tidy up works including; graffiti removal, and the repair or boarding over of broken and missing windows.

Councillor Philippa Davey, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities for Plymouth City Council, said: “We have given the owners plenty of chances to clear up the site but they have failed to do anything about it. It is not acceptable for buildings to be left to fall into such a state of disrepair and I hope this sends a clear message to property owners that we will take legal action if they fail to comply with our requests.”

The Section 215 Notice formally required that the following work be completed by the Monday 10 August 2015:

• Repair, or replace, all broken glazing panels in the vacant hotel building, or completely board over each of the broken glazing panels with grey coloured wooden boarding
• Remove all graffiti from any part of the building and surrounding structures, including any on any boundary walls, fences, &/or wooden boarding
• Remove all debris (broken glass, timber, plastic, building rubble etc.) from the ground surrounding the building.

The site was visited by a Council Planning Officer this morning (Tuesday 11 August) who confirmed that the works had not been carried out in accordance with the notice.  Therefore, the Council will now be seeking to prosecute the land owner for failing to comply with the notice.

A Safer Plymouth meeting was held on 10 June for residents to discuss their concerns about the issues relating to vandalism and anti-social behaviour. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. You can read the minutes and get other updates here.

Photo: © Copyright Rob Newman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.