Licensing hearing for Hastings takeaway delayed

A hearing on a bid to extend the opening hours of a Hastings kebab shop has been adjourned until next month.
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On Thursday (July 7), a Hastings Borough Council licensing panel had been due to consider an application to extend the hours of a late night food licence for Flames Grill, a takeaway in Havelock Road.

But the meeting has now been adjourned and is now due to take place on August 4.

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The takeaway is seeking to extend its licence from 3am to 4am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights — the same hours the takeaway had before they were cut back following a licensing hearing in February 2020.

Flames Grill in Havelock Road, HastingsFlames Grill in Havelock Road, Hastings
Flames Grill in Havelock Road, Hastings

The 2020 hearing had been called in light of a request from Sussex Police to revoke the takeaway’s licence following a ‘series of serious violent incidents’ connected to the premises.

Despite the police calls to revoke the licence entirely, councillors instead opted to cut back opening hours and impose stronger conditions. These conditions, which were solidified following a later court hearing, included those around the takeaway’s CCTV system and a requirement to employ door staff.

The business says it has complied fully with these conditions and is not seeking to remove them as part of this application. The only change would be the extra hour of opening on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, as well as on Sundays before bank holiday Mondays.

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It also points out that it has also been able to open until 4am ‘without incident’ on a number of occasions in the past year, through the use of Temporary Event Notices.

Even so, the application is opposed by licensing officers and Sussex Police.