‘Prohibition notice’ served on Stromness Hotel
Staff and guests have been asked to leave The Stromness Hotel today, after a “prohibition notice” was served by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
This follows a “surprise visit” to the premises on Saturday, which resulted in a decision being taken to “shut the entire property down.” Staff have been left unsure what must be done before it can reopen.
An appeal has been made to try to organise alternative accommodation for those who were staying at the historic building.
In a statement made to The Orcadian tonight (Monday, July 29), the hotel’s owner, Na’Ãm Paymán said there was an agreed action plan in place with a member of the fire service regarding “ongoing works to ensure full compliance of the building.”
He added: “Most of these works have been completed, and we have been in continuous communication with the representative who was happy with the progress being made with regards to an outstanding point on repairs or replacement to the emergency stairs, which were also being worked on over the last few months.
“On Saturday we received a surprise visit by another officer, who decided to shut the entire property down.
“We were under the impression that this could be appealed, as noted on the prohibition notice, however it seems that this is not the case, despite what it stated on the notice. As a result, we’ve had to ask all staff and guests to vacate the hotel today.
“As this was served as an out-of-hours notice, we don’t know the full details of what they want us to do to be able to open, and they have refused to provide details for the time being.
“We are trying our best to support guests and staff at this very difficult time, and find a way of reopening as soon as possible.”
Mr Paymán added that he would appreciate assistance with hosting guests. For those able to help, an online form has been created here.