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A landlord using a building between Preston city centre and the city’s university campus illegally as accommodation has been sentenced.
Mr Liang Chen pleaded guilty to four breaches of fire safety rules for his use of 120 Corporation Street.
The premises were raised in January 2022 and it was found the building – which sits above a former restaurant and nightclub – was being used as accommodation despite this being prohibited.
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Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said this followed an inspection in July 2021 where a prohibition notice was served due to an inadequate fire alarm system being in place. The notice prevented the building being used as accommodation.
The fire service brought legal proceedings against Mr Chen saying his breaches of fire safety rules ‘posed a serious threat to the life and safety of the occupier and anyone else who may visit the property’.
During Thursday 21 November at Preston Crown Court Mr Chen was sentenced to nine months in prison to be served concurrently and suspended for 18 months.
He will also do 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay £2,400 in costs to the fire service.
Protection department group manager for the fire service, Ian Armistead, said: “Mr Liang Chen is the responsible person for these premises, and as such has a legal duty to ensure that people who use his premises are provided with a safe environment. We hope that this prosecution will ensure that the standard of his properties is kept within the requirements of the law.
“In our constant drive to make Lancashire safer, our fire safety enforcement teams are always actively seeking out other dangerous premises. We would hope that the outcome of this particular case sends a clear message that fire safety must always be a priority.
“In this instance the consequences of the inadequate fire safety measures and inadequate management could have led to serious injury or loss of life and circumstances left us with no other option but to take this action.
“Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service will always work with those willing to address fire safety issues and businesses can be assured that we will continue to support them in complying with the Fire Safety Order.
“We would urge landlords and responsible persons who need to take action to comply with fire safety regulations to visit the Business Safety section of our website, which contains advice and guidance on how to comply with your legal duties.”
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