Beechmere retirement village fire: trial starts next week

The complex, which housed around 150 residents, was destroyed in a fire on 8 August 2019.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is prosecuting under the Fire Safety (Regulatory Reform) Order 2005. The four defendants, all of whom have pleaded not guilty, face a total of 14 charges between them.

They are:

Avantage (Cheshire) Ltd. – contracted to procure the design, build and finance of Beechmere and operate the village. Avantage is a subsidiary of Your Housing Ltd.

Your Housing Ltd. – employed staff at Beechmere and as such was the ‘responsible person’ for fire safety measures as defined by Article 3(a) of the Fire Safety (Regulatory Reform) Order 2005.

Morgan Sindall Property Services Ltd. – the facilities management subcontractor to Avantage with responsibility for responsive repairs and cyclical maintenance.

Total Fire Group Ltd. – contracted to carry out fire risk assessments in August 2017 and August 2018 at Beechmere.

The full list of charges can be found at: Beechmere 

The trial at Chester Crown Court is expected to last between eight and 10 weeks and will be heard by His Honour Judge Michael Leeming. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is represented by Michael Hayton KC.