Illegal HMO at bishop's mansion a fire risk

DIRECTORS FINED AFTER 21 PEOPLE FOUND IN LISTED HALL

- By DAVID HUNTLEY Reporter

TWO company directors who turned the former Roman Catholic Bishop of Newcastle's home into an illegal house of multiple occupation (HMO) have been fined £60,000.

A total of 21 people, mainly care workers including two children, were sharing 14 bedrooms and one kitchen at the property.

Environmental health officers from Newcastle City Council discovered the 17th-century building had no fire detection system or emergency lighting, and all bedrooms were inner rooms meaning the only means of escape would have been through high-risk rooms. The windows gave no means of escape and exposed wires in a fuse box in the dining room could have started a fire or caused electrocution.

Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard that the fire safety risk was immediate and, in the event of a fire, there would have been a significantly high probability of serious injuries and multiple deaths. Fire officers served a prohibition notice on the building ordering it to be shut down immediately, forcing the occupants to leave.