Councillors reject Hastings restaurant’s licence bid

On Tuesday (May 13), a Hastings Borough Council licensing panel considered an application seeking a new premises licence for Ocean Spice in White Rock.

The restaurant had been seeking to replace a premises licence revoked by the council in May last year, a decision which followed the November 2023 conviction of previous licence holder Siddiquar Rahman for affray.

The decision to revoke the restaurant’s licence had been the subject of an appeal, which meant the business was able to continue to conduct licensable activities until a final decision could be made by the courts.

The process concluded in April, when the appeal was withdrawn.

During the appeal period, the council approved the transfer of the previous licence to Fawjia Ltd — a limited company wholly owned by Siddiquar Rahman’s daughter Fawjia Rahman.

The application for a new licence, which would be held by Fawjia Ltd, had seen objections raised by Sussex Police, which raised concerns around Mr Rahman’s continued involvement in the business since the previous hearing.

PC Daren Spalding, a member of the Sussex Police Licensing Team, told the panel how he had visited the premises on four occasions between September and December last year.

He said Miss Rahman had not been present during any of these visits, but that her father had been.

During the hearing, Louis Stelling, a lawyer representing Miss Rahman, told councillors that Mr Rahman was not the restaurant’s manager.

He said: “[Mr Rahman’s] is sort of a floating glad hander. People have been going to this restaurant for a very long time. Mr Rahman is the face of that historic service, however, they are now well-aware he is no longer the manager.

“He has no control over the bank accounts, he does not hire and fire, he does not do any checks, he does not do any orders, he does not do any deliveries. Yes, he is at the premises, mainly because he is concerned that his daughter has a successful business moving forward.”

Mr Stelling added: “He is well aware that it is not his business; it is his daughter’s.”

Miss Rahman told the panel how she was working full time for the business and was at the premises five days a week. She said her father drew in customers and expressed a desire to keep him close to the business.

She added: “My dad is there because he is doing what a father would do. He is being supportive to me, because he just wants to make sure I do well.”

The submission from Sussex Police set out how Mr Rahman’s conviction for affray resulted from the January 2022 assault on an 18-year-old man from Sudan.

Police say the man had been working illegally at The Balti Hut — a business then operated by Mr Rahman’s son Shahnur Rahman —- and was attacked after he threatened to contact authorities about working conditions and unpaid wages.

Police representatives told the panel how Shahnur Rahman and two more of Siddiquar Rahman’s sons — Mominur Rahman and Ridwanur Rahman — were convicted of attempted GBH as a result of their actions in the incident.

The police representatives also set out how immigration enforcement visits had been carried out at Ocean Spice over a 13-month period between October 2018 and November 2019.

These visits resulted in Spice Rock Limited, a company previously tied to the business, being issued fines totalling £100,000.

Inspector Simon Burroughs argued these previous offences indicated a pattern of behaviour by the “Rahman family”.

Mr Stelling told the panel how the business would accept a condition which banned the brothers from being on the premises. Mr Stelling went on to indicate his client would accept conditions to formalise Mr Rahman’s separation from management of the business, but wished for him to still be able to be present on the premises.

Hastings Borough Council licensing officer Kirstie Rolfe argued that such conditions would be unsustainable and difficult to monitor.

After hearing from all interested parties, the panel retired to consider their decision in private. They returned to confirm the application had been refused. Their full written decision is expected to be published within five working days.

The decision will be open to appeal through the courts. As the restaurant is not currently in possession of premises licence, it will be unable to carry out any licensable activities during the appeal process.