STANTON House Hotel has been told it needs to make urgent improvements to its kitchen after scoring zero in a food hygiene inspection.

The score is the lowest an establishment can receive and the owners must now take action to improve.

Inspectors visited the Stanton Fitzwarren hotel on July 10 with the score being published on the Food Standards Agency website.

The hotel has two restaurants, one of which is Japanese while the other has a mixed menu with Japanese elements due to its links with the nearby Honda plant.

It has been confirmed the rating for Stanton House Hotel covers all food catering within the building, including the restaurant and whatever is prepared for guests at the hotel.

The venue is popular among people in the region and is one of the leading venues for weddings while it also holds many conferences.

The exact details as to why such a low score was given are not publicly available, but the Food Standards Agency website explains how venues which deal with food are graded.

It read: “Each business is given their hygiene rating when it is inspected by a food safety officer from the business’s local authority. 

“The food safety officer inspecting the business checks how well the business is meeting the law by looking at how hygienically the food is handled, the condition of the structure of the buildings such as the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities as well as how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.

“At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings from 0-5. The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards. 

“Any business should be able to reach this top rating.”

A hotel spokesman said: “Whilst naturally disappointed by the rating, we would like to make it clear that no guests have been directly affected. 

“The inspection has identified some issues that could be improved, and we have already implemented a number of new practices and procedures in response with external consultant’s help, as well as investing in further staff training.”

This latest score follows the news that 14 other venues around the town were given a score of zero since the start of the year.

Louise Doughty, public protection team leader for Swindon Borough Council, said officers will look to work with venues to help them improve.

She said: “You often hear calls for these places to be shut down when they score a zero, but there are strict criteria which have to be adhered to.

“If they meet them then we will take action, but if not then we will work with them to try so they can improve.

“We don’t go out looking to shut places down or give them a low score so we try and help.

“What we would say to any business which uses food is to contact us if they are unsure.” 

The hygiene scores of all the food establishments in Swindon can be found by visiting www.ratings.food.gov.uk