Latest news with #MaldonDistrictCouncil
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Fish on the Quay in Maldon pictures show extent of rat mess
Rat droppings were found next to drinks, a pizza oven and inside food packaging at an infested seafood restaurant, the BBC can also discovered smeared rodent faeces along the inner wall of a marquee at Fish on the Quay in Maldon, details emerged after Maldon District Council secured a court order to shut the venue down on restaurant did not respond when approached for comment, but a manager previously vowed to reopen. It was inspected on 13 June after a customer tipped the local authority off about food safety and hygiene concerns.A member of staff "quickly dashed to the kitchen" after spotting two inspectors arrive, documents obtained by the BBC showed. It was believed rats were nesting in sheds used for product storage and entering the kitchen via a gap in the door."Both showed signs of considerable rat activity with numerous droppings noted throughout and damage to food packaging," the report said, referring to the the kitchen, inspectors found a "considerable" number of droppings by a washing up area that stored clean equipment and were found next to condiments, on top of a jar of honey and on a shelf below a pizza oven, as well as in storage space for drinks and glasses. "On top of the fridge was a plastic mesh storage tray with dry foods present," one inspector noted. "As I lifted the tray, fresh rat droppings were falling out and when I removed the tray, rat droppings were present all over the top of the fridge. "In the mesh storage tray I could see a rat dropping inside food packaging."They said it presented an imminent risk to health, branding the state of the kitchen "extremely dangerous and completely unacceptable". The presence of rats at hospitality venues is treated as a health risk due to diseases they can pass to bacteria including salmonella, E. coli and leptospira - which can cause Weil's disease - can be carried by the rodents, which frequently defecate and on the Quay is also home to a pub and a bed and breakfast, both of which are affected by the closure order.A council spokesman said: "We continue to work with the business to support their reopening when the issues have been satisfactorily addressed." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Maldon MP criticises Blackwater Leisure Centre plans
Users of a popular leisure centre would be "badly affected" by plans to revamp it, an MP sports hall at Blackwater Leisure Centre in Maldon, Essex, is due to be replaced by a new climbing wall and gym on 18 John Whittingdale, the town's Conservative MP, said people had been left baffled by the Maldon District Council leader Richard Siddall said the centre would be made "fit for purpose" for the next 20 years thanks to the work. Basketball, badminton and five-a-side football clubs have all been frequent users of the sports have told the BBC about not being consulted on the decision, which was made in November, until May. "I've received a lot of letters from constituents who are going to be badly affected by this decision," Sir John said."People don't quite understand why the decision was taken in the first place."Clubs have been looking to find alternative bases before the August deadline with mixed basketball team Highrollers found a venue 12 miles away (20km) in Burnham-on-Crouch, but the future of the centre's badminton club was John added: "The sports hall is much-valued and there is no alternative as yet that has been found."He called on the council to prioritise its residents over becoming a "profit-making enterprise".The project, which will also lead to work on the centre's swimming pool, is being led by contractor Places Leisure. Council leader Siddall, of the Maldon District Independent Group, said the work was crucial to future-proofing the claimed the leisure centre would not survive without the plan being implemented."We're really working hard over these months to make sure we find places for those that might be displaced temporarily," he studio space would be created under the proposal, he said, and the new gym would be accessible for people with disabilities."A lot of martial arts groups are very excited about the new studios and the facilities we're going to be providing," Siddall added. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
