Yellow line a burning issue for hotel boss (From York Press)

Yellow line a burning issue for Dean Court Hotel boss

8:32am Monday 16th April 2012 in News

A FURIOUS hotel manager says York council contractors sent thick blue smoke pouring into his foyer and bedrooms while working on the street outside.

David Brooks, general manager of the Dean Court Hotel in Duncombe Place, said workers painted double yellow lines outside his business, then promptly burned off one of them, sending smoke into the building.

He said: “It was like the fumes from 20 or 30 exhausts coming into all the rooms fronting onto the street. There was a blue haze throughout the hotel.

“We didn’t receive any warning beforehand. If we had done, it would have given us a chance at least to shut all the windows.”

He said the council’s decision to ban parking at night outside the hotel had been bad enough, as it was damaging to businesses in the area, including the hotel, but he said the yellow line fiasco had rubbed salt in the wounds.

He said workmen arrived on Thursday morning to paint the double yellow lines, but about three hours after completing the work they returned with equipment to burn off one of the lines which had been painted in error.

Martin Horner, head of civil engineering at City of York Council, said unfortunately the contractors carrying out the work initially put down double yellow lines rather than the single line that was required.

He said: “We would have expected them to notify the Dean Court Hotel before they started to remove the extra line and can only apologise for any inconvenience that resulted from this not being done.”

A spokeswoman said a single yellow line was needed rather than double because, while parking was banned 24 hours a day from Monday to Saturday, it was allowed on Sunday mornings until 11am and again after 6pm to assist people attending services at nearby churches.

Coun Merrett, cabinet member for city strategy, has previously defended the ban on evening parking. He said it would “enhance the city-centre experience for residents and visitors alike at all times of the day - something we strongly believe will benefit businesses too”.