Council cuts hours at Eastbourne takeaway due to licensing breaches

At a hearing earlier this month, Eastbourne Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee reviewed the licence of Best Kebab, a late night takeaway in Langney Road. 

The review had been triggered by Sussex Police after officers observed the business serving customers beyond its allowed 3am closing time on December 12, January 1, January 23 and January 27.

In light of this, the force had called for the takeaways’s opening hours to be cut back to 2am and be required to employ SIA-trained door staff.

During the hearing, held on April 7, the sub-committee heard that the takeaway had appointed a new premises licence holder prior to the hearing.  

A representative for the new premises licence holder Heman Rasul, who already runs an off licence in Hampden Park, had suggested the business had stayed open after 3am ‘not to make money but to keep customers happy’ some of whom were ‘drunk and aggressive’.

But they described the review as a ‘wake up call’ and did not dispute the ‘problems of the past’, but believed steps had already been taken to prevent the issues happening again, including the new management.

They asked for the new regime to be given an opportunity to demonstrate it could comply with the licence’s requirements. However, they also indicated that they would be comfortable with reducing operating hours to 2.45am. 

In a decision notice made public on Tuesday (April 19), the sub-committee confirmed that it had chosen to reduce the takeaway’s licenced hours to 2.30am. 

The takeaway will also be required to employ SIA-registered door staff from 10pm on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Sussex Police had requested a 9pm start and for door staff to also be employed on Monday nights, but the panel did not consider there to be sufficient evidence to do so. 

In the decision notice, a spokesman for the sub-committee said:  The sub-committee considered that this decision was appropriate to prevent late night revellers congregating (at the premises and in the area of the premises) and prevent anti-social behaviour in the future.

“The sub-committee took into account in making its decision that there had been a recent transfer of the premises licence and that there had been no recent reported issues at the premises.

“However, that was balanced with the concerns that the premises would revert to opening late in the future, given the failure by the premises licence holder at the relevant time to comply with warnings, and that would lead to incidents of disorder.”

The business has the right to appeal the committee’s decision in court.