THE owner of the Hendley Hotel, Colne, could be forced to upgrade standards or face legal action.

Inquiries are being carried out into the present use of the hotel, in Queen Street, to establish whether it should be classed as a hotel or a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

If it is decided that it is a HMO then it would fail to meet current legal requirements.

In a report to the Colne Committee, Denise Donnelly, private sector housing manager, said: "The property provides accommodation for clients claiming housing benefit who have no other permanent place of residence, as distinct from hotels that provide accommodation for temporary visitors to the area.

"It is a four-storey building with 25 rooms available for letting on the first and second floors. The property currently fails to provide sufficient kitchen and washing facilities. Sizes of rooms fall below the required minimum floor area.

"The fire officer is of the opinion the property is occupied as an HMO and that the current fire precautions do not reach the required standard for this type of occupancy. However, the current fire certificate covers the property for use as a hotel.

"As there are no contraventions of the legislation covering fire precautions, the certificate cannot be cancelled."

Fire regulations cannot be applied afterwards and, therefore, the fire officer cannot require the existing building to be upgraded, but urban renewal are able to do this using current housing legislation.

Councillors in Colne agreed that an early meeting should be held with the owner of the property to advise him of his legal obligations and that the environmental health and urban renewal service manager, Trevor Mitton, should take appropriate action to ensure the property meets the legal requirements of the Housing Acts.

The planning manager, Andy Wiggett, will also be asked to further investigate the present use of the premises.