Pub ordered to pay £140k for food hygiene failures

The Norton pub in Coleshill, Warwickshire, was found to have no effective food safety management system, an unhygienic kitchen environment and poor food storage.

Pub owner Westbourne Leisure received a total fine for 11 offences of £136,000 from Nuneaton Magistrates’ Court. It was also ordered to pay investigation and legal costs of £5,644.30, plus a victim surcharge of £181. 

Pub operations manager Karen Stevens pleaded guilty yesterday (4 February 2020), with the pub owner ordered to pay £141,825.30 in total.

It came after a visit from North Warwickshire Borough Council environmental health officers in July last year found a string of breaches. These included food being stored in an area that had not been properly pest-proofed.

Failure to comply 

The offences fell into three categories, including what the council described as “a failure to comply with even the basic domestic standard of hygiene let alone a commercial standard”.

Other offences related to the structure of the building which was not pest-proofed and the lack of hot water.

The pub is currently open but does not serve food any longer. 

Councillor Margaret Bell, chair of the community and environment board, said the council was committed to making sure food businesses were safe. 

She said: “This case shows the advantages of having a good food inspection regime in place and I would like to commend our officers and legal team in bringing this case to a successful conclusion."

The court gave 10% credit for Westbourne Leisure pleading guilty without the need for a trial.

It also acknowledged that the pubco had a previous conviction for serious food hygiene offences last year at the Irish Centre in Birmingham.  

Westbourne Leisure did not wish to comment when contacted for comment.