A property developer who allowed dozens of residents to move into a converted office block before fire escapes were signed off has been spared prison.
Anthony Coates, 66, was the director of Columbia House Development Ltd, which bought the seven-storey Columbia House in Romany Road, Worthing, to convert it into flats.
But in August 2022 Coates allowed the premises to be occupied before the escape routes (the corridor and stairs) were signed off as fire safety compliant.
Both he and the company were prosecuted by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service for significant breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (2005).
The charges against the company were dropped in March last year, but Coates pleaded guilty to five charges and was sentenced last week at Lewes Crown Court.
The court heard that a fire safety inspecting officer who was working on the building regulation consultation for this premises noticed lots of vehicles in the residents’ car park when passing by.
Upon investigation it became apparent that residents had wrongly been allowed to move into the properties.
This negligence endangered approximately 30 residents, and the breaches undermined the building’s fire safety strategy; if a fire were to occur, anyone living or visiting the flats was placed at an increased risk of potential death or serious injury.
On Friday, Coates, of The Creek, Walton-on-the-Naze, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, along with a requirement to undertake 150 hours of unpaid community work, and fined £1,000.
Dave Bray, head of fire safety for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this case and believe it serves as a strong reminder to all those responsible for the design, construction, occupation and management of premises in West Sussex, to which the Fire Safety Order applies, that the duties placed upon them by the Fire Safety Order are taken seriously.
“Duty holders are reminded that the Fire Safety Order is in place to protect life in the event of a fire. As such, the highest sanctions possible will be sought where these failings endanger the lives of residents and visitors to West Sussex.”
