Bradford gym fined over £10,000 for COVID breaches
The owner of Lifestyle Gym in Kyme Mills has pleaded guilty to eight breaches of COVID-19 legislation.
The owner of a Bradford gym has been fined £10,516 by Bradford Magistrates in relation to breaches of COVID-19 legislation.
Mr Tahier Hussain Shah, who runs Lifestyle Gym in Kyme Mills, has pleaded guilty to eight breaches of COVID-19 legislation and three charges of obstruction.
A legal prohibition notice for the gym to close had been issued following a number of complaints and recorded breaches both during the initial lockdown period, which started in March, and when new restrictions were brought into place on 31 July, 2020.
It follows a significant number of complaints from the public from March and a number of visits from environmental health officers to check that the premises were adhering to the legislation. On certain occasions, the officer carrying out the inspection was obstructed from carrying out their visit.
Environmental health officers recorded members of the public were using the gym during inspections to check if the facility was closed on several occasions, with over twenty people recorded as being in the premises during more than one inspection.
Magistrate Mr Benedetto Paolozzi, in the chair for the hearing, stated that Mr Shah showed blatant disregard for public health and the health of the community. He also advised that he would receive a financial penalty due to the breaches and that he had received a COVID-19 business grant.
The offences took place during periods where Indoor gyms were required to close due to the risk of spreading COVID-19. At the time of the file being sent through for prosecution, the BD3 postcode area was in a high risk area, with high numbers of COVID-19 cases.
A spokesperson for Bradford Council said:
“It was clear from this case that Mr Shah clearly understood the requirement to close and had received advice and guidance from our Environmental health team – yet he continued to allow members of the public into the gym with blatant disregard for the legislation and the serious risk posed by the spread of COVID-19 in a community with many cases and high risk groups.”
“As a Council, we have worked with businesses to offer support, guidance and the education they need to be able to help keep their customers as safe as possible from the risk of COVID-19. But if anyone puts the Public at risk on a frequent basis, such as in this case, we will have no hesitation to prosecute to protect the health of our district.”