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Mandatory sprinklers for historic hotel conversions
Simon and Richard’s Law to honour the victims of the Cameron House Hotel fire.
Sprinklers will become a mandatory requirement for traditional buildings that are newly converted into hotels in Scotland if changes to the law are passed.
These follow recommendations from the fatal accident inquiry into the Cameron House Hotel fire in December 2017 which caused the deaths of Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson.
Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan said the changes would be known as ‘Simon and Richard’s Law’ to honour the victims of the fire.
Secondary legislation has been laid in the Scottish Parliament to fully implement recommendation four of the Cameron House Fatal Accident Inquiry. These changes to the law will extend the scope of installing sprinklers to include traditional buildings converted to hotel use. The ban on combustible external wall cladding systems will also be extended to include hotels, guest houses, hostels and boarding houses.
These changes will come into force on 6 April 2026 if approved by the Scottish Parliament.
Ms McAllan said:
“The deaths of Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson in 2017 at Cameron House Hotel were a truly awful tragedy. The Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown and I met with Jane Midgley last week to discuss these changes. I want to pay tribute to the Dyson and Midgley families and the strength of Ms Midgley for her tireless campaigning over the last few years to improve the laws that govern fire safety in Scotland.
“The fatal accident inquiry into their deaths made a number of recommendations, including for the Scottish Government to introduce a requirement for sprinklers to be installed when historic buildings are converted to hotels. I am pleased to have introduced this change in law to the Scottish Parliament.
“Simon and Richard’s Law will ensure that any future conversions of historic buildings in Scotland into hotels will be required to have sprinklers installed. This is part of a package of work we are taking forward as a result of the Cameron House Hotel fire to improve public safety in Scotland and reduce the risk of a tragedy like this happening again.”
Local authorities in Scotland are responsible for assessing applications for a building warrant to carry out a hotel conversion. Applications for a warrant would need to meet regulations and building standards before any work can start on site.
Building and Fire Safety: Ministerial Working Group – gov.scot
