We had received requests from our customers to stay open until a later time on both Fridays and Saturdays. We applied to extend our opening hours to 2 am, but unfortunately our application was rejected due to 4 objections.
Objection (1)
The site is on the corner of a residential road and we have bedrooms at the front of our properties. There are several families living here with young children and opening until 2am would increase noise from pedestrians gathering at the end of Lumb Lane and passing along it. There would be increased traffic noise and congestion - there are already several instances of cars parking on the double yellow lines.
Objection (2)
I expect there to be an increase in litter strewn along Lumb Lane and into our front gardens, along with the smell and waste of discarded food. You may be aware there has already been a major problem with large rats in the gardens of the properties at the end of Lumb Lane which jeopardises the already established restaurant trade as well as the health of the residents.
Objection (3)
I object to this application for extended opening hours. I live on the residential road very close to this take away. Already there are gatherings outside, late at night, which is worrying as I live on my own. There have been several incidents where, due to their cliental parking on the corner, (where there are double yellow lines) I have had to swerve to miss a collision. In the village of Bramhall we do not need a business serving take away, open until 2am, where discarded food on the streets will increase the rats and pigeon population, causing disease.
Objection (4)
I strongly object to the extended opening hours of this takeaway in our village. The local pubs close at 11.30 pm at the latest. It is on the corner of a residential road and has no parking. At night any customers travelling into the village by car will be even more inclined to park on our road, on the double yellow lines. It will create additional traffic noise late at night with car doors slamming when we are trying to sleep. It will also attract local youths who will congregate on the street near the takeaway again creating noise and potentially litter, which will attract vermin. Additionally, I'm don't think extending the opening hours of a takeaway is aligned with the intentions of 'Healthy Stockport'.
Appeal
In response to the first objection, why young children should stay out after 11 pm to make noise? The latest time our youth customers come to order food is 10 pm. The reason we have applied to extend the hours is to serve people who have been drinking in the village and need food not the children or youth.
In regards to opening late would increase vermin, however, our premises are being regularly checked by our contracted pest control officer, therefore, there is no need to worry about the health and safety of the food or the nearby area. If the residents at the end of Lumb lane has a major problem with large rats in their garden they should consult either with Stockport Council Pest control department or private pest control companies. This is nothing to do with our premises. Our shop has received 5 stars from the Food Standards Agency showing that we are a very clean and safe business.
In regards, to several instances of cars parking on the double yellow lines, we should not be held responsible for any road users. They could be waiting to pick up their children from the dance academy next to the estate agent. They could be waiting to pick up someone from the opticians, or the hair salon and we should not be held responsible for any cars. There are 3 + 3 disabled parking spaces opposite our shop and they are always empty after 11 pm if any customers would like to come and collect their order, therefore, parking issue between 11 pm and 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights is irrelevant.
In regards to discarded food, our staff have been fully trained and if there are any discarded food from our shop is found outside our premises they regularly check, take and bin them. This is again something could happen by children or youth who come to our shop between 4-9 pm. We have never seen any children and youth after 10 pm because they are in bed at 11 pm any way therefore, it is irrelevant to this application. We have applied to extend the licence to a later time to serve adults, not children or teenagers who should be at home by 11 pm.
In regards to the third objection as far as we are aware, there was only one incident on Lumb Lane few months ago and it was nothing to do with us and it was between 6-7 pm. Can the honourable resident provide any proofs of many incidents linked to our business?
Also, the business is protected by a private security company called (( Stopfordian )) so if there are any issues regarding the public disturbance, their number will be called by our staff immediately and they will arrive within 4 minutes to stop youths causing problems outside of our shop. Their officers are either ex-military commanders or ex-police sergeants who are well capable to stop any kinds of public disturbance outside our shop.
Finally, in Bramhall Village, the business that is open latest is Yardbird (open until 2 am on Friday's and Saturday's). This bar and restaurant is only a short walk away and so our business should be allowed to be open until later than our current closing time of 11 pm on two nights only.
In response to the last objection, it is obvious that the respected resident has never been in the village after 11:30 pm otherwise they would have seen Hundreds people dancing and enjoying their time in Yardbird.
We have had many people come in and tell us that they are very glad that a kebab shop has been opened in Bramhall and that they are disappointed that it closes so early. We even received a bad review on Google for our opening time.
If you would like us to stay open later on Fridays and Saturdays, then please like the blog and get in touch with us.