Guests allowed to stay overnight at Wigan hotel as fire prohibition is lifted

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) confirmed it had last week removed the prohibition order on the boutique getaway destination being run in the 19th-century landmark by Contessa Hotels.

The notice had been served on the hotel last October as there were inadequate ways of getting out of the building from the upper levels if a blaze broke out.

The campaign group Friends of Haigh Hall Heritage and Open Access To All spoke of its relief that the hotel was once more compliant with safety regulations, having previously described the fact a prohibition notice was needed as “disgraceful”.

However, the campaigners did question GMFRS’ statement that Contessa Hotels will not face further consequences as the necessary safety measures were put in place before anyone was allowed to stay over.

Visitors came forward to speak to the authorities about their stays at the hall.

A fire service spokesperson said: “The findings of the investigation are that sufficient work has been completed to comply with the conditions detailed on the prohibition notice at Haigh Hall Hotel.

“As of Monday, April 29 the fire service prohibition has been lifted and all persons who stayed over have made themselves known to us and did so after the systems we required were fully operational so providing no risk of serious injury in the event of fire which warranted the prohibition being served, hence the reason we cannot prosecute the owner for non-compliance of the notice.

“No further action is being taken at this time other than to continue to monitor progress with Haigh Hall Hotel and local authority building control.”

A campaign group spokesperson said: “We are pleased to hear that the hotel is now safe for guests to stay in.

“However, we are really disappointed to hear that no action will be taken and we hope the fire service will elaborate.

“If people were staying once the improvements had been made, why was the prohibition order not signed off earlier? We would love to know how the fire service knew the changes had been made.”