A HISTORIC Glasgow hotel has been forced to close 56 rooms after deadly asbestos was discovered.
A HISTORIC Glasgow hotel has been forced to close 56 rooms after deadly asbestos was discovered.
The Quality Central Hotel in Gordon Street has been issued with the prohibition notice following a routine inspection by city council environmental health officers.
An initial probe at the A-Listed building showed asbestos was present in a pipe in a fire escape and council experts carried out a further inspection.
A large part of the three-star, 222-room city centre hotel, which has entertained top stars and underwent a £3million refurbishment in 2006, is now out of bounds.
A council spokesman said: "Serving a prohibition notice is not something environmental health officers do lightly.
"They would only do so if they believed there was an on-going danger and risk to health.
"They would not issue such a notice if asbestos had been found undisturbed but only if they thought it was in a condition which was a risk to someone's health.
"That tends to be when there are fibres in the air or the potential for there to be fibres."
The prohibition notice, which has closed a "substantial" part of the hotel was served under the Health and Safety at Work Act to protect workers, guests and other visitors.
The spokesman added: "This is still at a very early stage but the hotel will now have to take action to remedy the concerns we have.
"We cannot yet say what that action will be but they could either encapsulate the material or remove it.
"Any work done has to be to our satisfaction.
"We will check to make sure the work is being done satisfactorily and will go back and inspect it in the future.
"Any area we are concerned about has to be sealed off and we will be monitoring that to ensure it is adhered to."
A hotel spokesman said: "We are working closely with the relevant health and safety officials and in order to meet the fire authority legislation in terms of travelling distance to a fire exit we are taking the precautionary measure of shutting 56 rooms while the necessary repairs take place.
"We are sorry to guests for any inconvenience.
"Staff have been given the appropriate health and safety training."
TIMES FILE
- THE A-listed Quality Central Hotel, which opened in 1883, is one of the city's oldest hotels.
- It was built by the Caledonian Railway Company to replace the old Bridge Street station.
- Its most outstanding feature is the 17th century-style Swedish clock tower.
- Its interior has remained relatively untouched, a reminder of its history.
- It has welcomed many famous people, including John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and Hollywood star Cary Grant, left, who stayed there in 1961.
- It was used as a base to transmit the first long-distance TV pictures by John Logie Baird, the Helensburgh-born inventor of television.
- It's reputedly haunted by a pregnant young maid who took an overdose and an Italian chef who fell seven floors from a window to his death.
