A shop in a prominent Hereford spot has been banned from allowing anyone to sleep in the building over fire safety concerns – again.
Sohail Akhtar of Fone Zone in the High Street next to High Town was served a prohibition notice last August by fire safety officers, preventing “sleeping or resting in the basement, on the ground, first or second floors” of the three-storey building, next to the city’s Marks & Spencer.
Then on March 5, a similar notice was again issued regarding the property, this time to iSmart Retail, of which Mr Akhtar is listed as the sole director.
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“There is insufficient means of detecting a fire and giving warning to those sleeping or resting on upper or lower floors,” the record of the prohibition notice says. “The means of escape from the upper floors is not suitably fire resisting.”
A Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson confirmed the prohibition remains in effect.
Asked about the ban, Mr Akhtar said he was currently abroad but would be taking it up with fire officers on his return later this month.
Approval was given in January 2023 to convert the previously disused upper floors of the property into two “compact” one-bedroom flats accessed from East Street to the rear.
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