The Chicken Valley on Goldhawk Road had its request approved in part, with the licence to remain in force for six months
A chicken takeaway restaurant in West London has been granted a temporary late-night licence but with earlier closing times than initially sought.
Hammersmith and Fulham councillors have granted Chicken Valley permission to serve late-night refreshment from its Goldhawk Road premises until 11.30pm Sunday to Thursday and 12.30am Friday and Saturday.
The Shepherd’s Bush restaurant had requested opening hours until midnight during the week and 1.30am on weekends, and to continue serving 15 minutes longer.
The proposal, which went before the council’s Licensing Sub-Committee last week, had received six objections including from the Met Police.
PC Charlotte Bennett wrote the premises is “in close proximity to an existing late night drinking establishment,” adding: “For me there are concerns regarding customer dispersal, particularly in the early hours, where the risk of disorder and anti-social behaviour is heightened. It is also in a high crime area.”
PC Bennett added that during a visit to the restaurant she was told it would be closing at 1am by a member of staff.
“I am concerned that the operator appears to have already been trading without a late night refreshment licence. This undermines confidence in their willingness to comply with licensing legislation, as unauthorised licensable activity has potentially been taking place and demonstrates behaviour that does not align with responsible management practices.”
Another objection was received by the council’s Community Safety Team.
Carol Fregiste-Thomas, Community Safety Officer (North), wrote there is already “a significant concentration of licensed premises” in the area concerned, many of which are permitted to operate until 11pm.
“The area surrounding Goldhawk Road experiences ongoing issues with large groups of individuals gathering in the vicinity. These groups regularly congregate on the public highway, obstruct pavements, and cause nuisance and disturbance to local residents.”
In a statement submitted ahead of the hearing, Matin Noori, Applicant and Operator of Chicken Valley, wrote the business only opened earlier this year.
Responding to the police’s representation, Mr Noori wrote: “The member of staff the officer spoke to that day normally works at another shop and was covering at Chicken Valley.
“They did not know the exact closing time here and assumed it was the same as their usual shop. This was a mistake by that individual, not an indication of our trading hours. I have since briefed all staff, including anyone covering from elsewhere, on our correct hours and on what they can and cannot say to officers.
“I run Chicken Valley responsibly. It is my first business and I have no history of incidents or complaints. We sell no alcohol, we take last orders before 23:00, we have CCTV and an incident log in place, and I am willing to accept clear conditions to protect our neighbours. I respectfully ask the committee to grant the application with those conditions.”
Ms Fregiste-Thomas told councillors at the licensing hearing her objection was not directed at the premises itself, which has received no complaints, but rather the potential effects of its proposed late-night hours.
“My concern is that in the area we do have groups of people who cause anti-social behaviour on the Goldhawk Road at night. I don’t know if any of the staff at the business have witnessed this themselves but there is a significant group of people that operate along the Uxbridge Road. They don’t stay in the same place, but its very close where they do hang out. It’s very close to that premises.”
Tony Fox, a resident and member of the Board of Directors of Apex Court on Woodger Road, said the close proximity of homes to Goldhawk Road means locals are impacted by any late-night disruption from the area.
He said that while he has nothing against the applicant, “I don’t think they can effectively support safeguarding for the residents in Woodger Road. I know they’ve had no previous complaints but there is a track record in anti-social behaviour that I think will potentially get worse if the hours are extended.”
Mr Noori told members he would be open to an earlier closing time than 2am, though that the majority of regulars say they would like the premises to continue serving later into the night.
On concerns about anti-social behaviour, he said: “We have never experienced this at this shop particularly. I’ve noticed the people that are doing this anti-social behaviour really want to stay away from places with high CCTV and high lights. They don’t want to be seen in the public eye.”
Councillors agreed to approve the premises licence in part, with opening hours until 11.30pm Sunday to Thursday and 12.30am Friday and Saturday.
A series of further conditions were also imposed, including keeping a daily incident log and installing high definition CCTV. The licence is to remain in force for a period of six months, unless another application is submitted and granted.
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