News


Hotel operator to pay £195,000 after employee suffered life-changing injuries


By Emma Lake


A hotel operator in Rutland has been ordered to pay more than £195,000 after an employee suffered life-changing injuries while trying to remove a loose branch from a tree using a makeshift platform. The court heard that on


24 May 2021 Andrew Veasey and a colleague were working at Barnsdale Hall hotel, which has since been rebranded to Rut- land Hall Hotel & Spa. The pair were asked to remove a loose tree branch using a non-integrated working platform that had been attached to a JCB vehicle parked across a slope. When the platform was


raised, the vehicle toppled over and crushed the roof of a car before plummeting into a bank. Veasey had to be resuscitated


at the scene and sustained life- changing injuries that mean he is no longer able to care for himself. An investigation, undertaken


by Peterborough City Council on behalf of Rutland County Coun- cil, found significant deficiencies in the hotel’s risk assessments,


Significant deficiencies were found in Rutland Hall’s risk assessment


level of training and instruction, safe use of machinery and sys- tem of work when carrying out non-routine tasks. The case was heard at Leicester Magistrates Court on 19 September, where the hotel pleaded guilty to a Section 2


offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It acknowledged it had failed


in its duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare at work of all its employees. Barnsdale Hall hotel was


ordered to pay a fine of £146,700, together with £50,000 costs and a £190 victim surcharge. Cllr Christine Wise, cabinet member for public protec- tion and community safety at Rutland County Council, said: “This is an extremely seri- ous case where failure to put appropriate health and safety measures in place has caused life-changing injuries to an individual, as well as irrepara- ble damage to a family that will never be the same again. “The sentence imposed on


the defendant following its guilty plea should serve as a clear warning that employers have a duty of care towards their staff and action will be taken in response to breaches of health and safety law. “The employers in question


have taken all of the required regulatory action required in response to the findings of our investigation. However, noth- ing can return Mr Veasey to full health and so it is impor- tant those responsible are held accountable to the full extent of the law.”


emma.lake@thecaterer.com Ashley Palmer-Watts joins the Devonshire as co-founder


Ashley Palmer-Watts has been named as the third co-founder of the Devonshire pub, which opened in London’s Soho on 3 November. The chef, who spent 20 years working at Heston Blumen- thal’s Fat Duck Group, has joined Oisín Rogers and Char- lie Carroll on the project. Rogers was formerly the landlord of the lauded Guinea Grill pub in London, while Car- roll founded steak restaurant group Flat Iron in 2013. The trio have restored a building just off Piccadilly Cir- cus that previously housed a Jamie’s Italian and Irish restau- rant brand Coqbull. Palmer-Watts has spent over a year developing the menus,


6 | The Caterer | 10 November 2023


upstairs restaurant menu is focused around a wood ember grill, with dishes including beef cheek, duck fat chips and a Guinness suet pudding. A set menu with three courses for less than £30 is on offer for lunch and dinner. Carroll said: “We wanted


to create the pub we wished existed in Soho, where all are welcome and hospitality and quality runs through everything we do.” Palmer-Watts, who left


From left: Charlie Carroll, Oisín Rogers and Ashley Palmer-Watts


and Jamie Guy, former group head chef for Mark Hix, is over- seeing the kitchen.


The downstair bars offers


bacon sandwiches and £2 sausages on a stick while the


the Fat Duck Group in 2020, announced last month he was returning to the UK restaurant scene to oversee the launch of a restaurant, wine bar, café and bakery in Cobham, Surrey next spring.


www.thecaterer.com


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