Bullring shop closed as council serves 'emergency' notice over 'imminent risk'
A shop in the Bullring was closed today, Friday, October 18, after being served a hygiene emergency prohibition notice by Birmingham City Council. Staff were seen inside cleaning Newspoint.
The newsagent, which sells newspapers, snacks and drinks, is located in Link Street, between the Bullring and Grand Central, next to diner Burger and Sauce.
A notice in the window, printed on council-headed paper, confirmed a notice had been served under regulation eight of the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013. It said an authorised officer had found part of the premises posed 'an imminent risk of injury to health'.
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The reasons listed were 'mouse activity', a 'poor level of cleaning' and 'food at risk of contamination'. The signed document said the owners 'must not use the premises, part premises or equipment or carry out the process(es) or treatment' until the authority provided a certificate allowing them to do so, effectively rendering the affected area unusable until the problems are resolved.
It was understood the shop intends the closure to be temporary. BirminghamLive attempted to contact Newspoint for comment.
The notice came just days after a video showing rodents running around near Costa in nearby New Street Station went viral online. The footage, shared by Instagram user @brum_life__, appeared to show rodents running beneath the shutters at the concourse coffee shop.
Costa said it was aware of an ongoing issue with rodents and reassured customers all of its food was kept in closed cabinets overnight. Network Rail responded, saying that while it 'cannot eradicate the issue of pests', staff conducted 'regular, scheduled clean-ups'.
In June, Grand Central restaurant Thai Express was shut down for two days after mouse droppings were found during a routine inspection. The Thai restaurant, which has since reopened, said at the time it was 'very hard to keep mice out' because the 'structure of the building is really poor'.