Lola,Originally Posted by Lola
The property, at the time, was not JTB certified and licensed. The Gleaner fact checkers would not have missed such an obvious error as that. Here is a quote from the first article, please note the final paragraph:
"Where Whitfield Hall is concerned Hickey said records show that TPDCo has been writing to the operators for the past 16 years.
“I have a file dating back from 2000 where these people at different stages have been told to meet the requirements,” said Hickey.
“I see where they had gone in 2013 and got insurance, so it would seem to me that they are trying to get licensed. But you really should not operate contrary to the JTB Act if you don’t have it (a license).”
But proprietor of the property, John Allgrove has criticised TPDCo for constantly changing the requirements to get licensed.
“The TPDCo people will not accept the application form unless everything is in place and I don’t have control over all the things that are supposed to be in place,” argued Allgrove.
“The parish council people are supposed to do some, the fire brigade are supposed to do some, the police liaison people supposed to do something and then the health people supposed to give my people food handlers permits. To line up all of them at the same time has become an impossible issue,” added Allgrove.
The Sunday Gleaner was unable to ascertain if the tragedy that took place on the property last Saturday could have been avoided if all the requirements had been met."
In the second "article" which was a "letter to the editor" from the property. They were licensed by the JTB from 1965 to 1995, then TDPCo since 1996. In 2001 and since then, the certification changes as stricter requirements are made. One of the latest changes is that all properties must have security camera surveillance. The property in question had problems meeting these changing requirements since 2001 - they speak of it themselves. Here is a quote from their response. Once again read the final paragraph. They have admitted finally meeting all requirements, which will allow the license to be granted once inspected:
"4. From 1996 to 2000, we were able to easily satisfy the TPDCO requirements, but around 2001, they added some requirements, which included approval and certification of our security arrangements by the Police Liaison Office, which took several years to come.
5. Most of the inspecting/certifying organisations do not have four-wheel-drive vehicles, so we generally have to provide transportation from Hagley Gap or Mavis Bank.
6. The JTB will not issue a licence unless ALL requirements have been met at the time of the application and, given the various requirements from different organisations with start and finish dates, it has proven very difficult to achieve this. However, our licence fees are paid up in full until 2017.
7. We have now satisfied the requirements of all the agencies involved in the TPDCo licence process and conform thereto. Further, TPDCo conducts an annual inspection of the property."
Please note, just because you have paid the JTB, does not mean the license is issued. Only after the the TDPCo inspection will the license be granted.
