Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Perth fire tragedy hotel stripped of its licence

The New County Hotel blaze claimed the lives of three people

New County hotel exterior with boards over window and building looking neglected
The New County Hotel has been boarded up since the fire. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

A Perth hotel where three people died in a massive fire has lost its alcohol licence.

Councillors revoked the New County Hotel licence after hearing the annual fees had not been paid for two years.

The landmark on County Place has been shut since the blaze on January 2 2023.

It claimed the lives of sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburgh, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, from Aberdeen and Keith Russell, 38, from Edinburgh.

Donna’s pet dog also died in the fire.

Councillors on the Perth and Kinross licensing board unanimously agreed to rescind the premises’ licence this week.

Emergency services at scene of New County Hotel fire in Perth
The New County Hotel fire was declared a major incident. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

They were told the business owed Perth City Council £1,000 in unpaid fees for the last two years.

The outstanding sum is for 2022 – the year before the fire – and last year.

The New County Hotel owner Rashid Hussain, 59, died in a London hospital in August 2023.

Mr Hussain owned both Edwin Hotels Ltd which owned the building and Perth Hospitality Limited which ran the hotel.

Perth Hospitality Ltd went into liquidation in August 2023 and is now in receivership.

(From left) Sharon McLean, Donna Janse Van Rensburg and Keith Russell.
Sharon McLean, Donna Janse Van Rensburg and Keith Russell died in the New County Hotel fire. Images: Police Scotland.

No one from the hotel was present at Wednesday’s meeting.

Depute clerk to the licensing board Collin Elliott told councillors: “We have had no contact from the official receiver as to whether they would attend or not.”

Concerns flagged before New County Hotel fire

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service says a joint investigation between itself and Police Scotland is still ongoing.

The blaze broke out just after 5am on Monday January 2 last year.

It was reported by a member of staff.

It’s thought more than 30 people were staying as guests at the hotel.

Nine appliances were sent to the scene and, at its height, more than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze.

Police officer outside New County Hotel with people in while overalls inside
Scenes of crime investigators at the New County Hotel following the fire. Image: Steve MacDougall / DC Thomson

The Scottish Ambulance Service also sent multiple resources, including a trauma team.

A major incident was declared and streets around the hotel were closed off.

It later emerged that a fire safety audit by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had revealed concerns about the hotel just three weeks before the blaze.

These included issues with testing and maintenance, means of escape, fire doors, the fire warning and detection system, and measures for preventing the spread of fire and smoke.

Flowers on pavement with New County Hotel in background
Flowers left outside the New County Hotel following the fatal fire. Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Perth and Kinross Council issued three health and safety improvement notices a fortnight before the fire.

Here, the issues included the front doors not being locked at night, the safety of windows and damaged or unsafe carpets and flooring.

Independent health and safety consultants also highlighted 29 areas of concern at the hotel a month before it went on fire.

Their report covered areas including electrical wiring, the safety of gas appliances, trip hazards, extraction systems and water testing.

 

Conversation