Hotel owner fined £29k for kitchen hygiene breaches

Ravinder Singh Takhar owns The Spread Eagle Hotel, in Thame

The owner of a boutique hotel has been ordered to pay more than £29,000 after he failed to resolve significant hygiene issues at the premises.

Ravinder Singh Takhar pleaded guilty to nine breaches of Food Safety and Hygiene regulations at Oxford Magistrates' Court on 9 September.

The court was told that Mr Takhar had failed to comply with two Hygiene Improvement Notices issued to The Spread Eagle Hotel, in Thame, in July 2023.

He was fined £15,000 and ordered by the court to pay more than £14,000 in costs and surcharges.

The District Judge overseeing the hearing had heard that an environmental health officer from South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) had conducted a routine inspection at The Spread Eagle in July 2023.

During the inspection, the officer found the site's kitchens were "not kept clean, in good repair, or in a safe condition", with damaged walls and floors in the kitchen.

Proper hygiene and safety procedures had also not been implemented, whilst waste storage and disposal were judged to be inadequate.

An environmental health officer found kitchens were not clean

As a result, the officer issued the hotel with two Hygiene Improvement Notices - requiring the repair or replacement of the floor and walls in the food preparation area within 11 weeks.

The hotel was also issued with a Food Hygiene Rating of just 1.

At a further visit, just three months later, the officer returned to find that the food premises had not been kept clean and in good condition.

Mr Takhar, who is from Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire, had also failed to comply with the two Hygiene Improvement notices.

A follow-up inspection found the food premises had not been kept clean

Cllr Sam James-Lawrie, from SODC, said: "We gave the owner of this hotel clear instructions and ample time to put things right, but they chose not to act."

"Food businesses have a legal duty to protect their customers by maintaining clean and safe premises."

"Ignoring these standards puts public health at risk and we will not hesitate to act against premises that fail to meet their requirements.

The Spread Eagle was most recently inspected in December 2024, and received a hygiene rating of 3.