Watford News
Watford takeaway's extra hours plan thrown out by licensing committee
5:21pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
A Watford kebab shop has had a bid to extend its opening hours thrown out after failing to convince politicians that the move would help reduce drunken violence in the town centre.
Police branded as "ridiculous" the argument put forward by Watford Town Kebabs that being allowed to stretch its serving hours until 3.15am would ease queuing and thus the chance of disputes breaking out in other takeaways.
The argument also failed to persuade councillors on Watford Borough Council’s licensing sub committee, who said they found it baffling before unanimously rejecting the plan.
A panel made up of three Liberal Democrats rejected the application, which would have seen the shop on The Parade close 45 minutes later than its current closing time of 2.30am, Monday to Saturday.
The application is the second bid by the takeaway for extended opening hours to be turned down in recent months. In December, councillors refused an application for it to stay open until 4am over Christmas and New Year.
At that hearing, the shop’s owner, Ali Taze, did not attend and the committee only heard representations from the police, who opposed it on disorder grounds.
Yet Mr Taze was at today’s hearing and was represented by licensing barrister David Dadds.
Mr Dadds disputed representations made by police that extending the shop’s opening hours would encourage clubbers and pub-goers to hang around the town centre later and thus increase the chance of violence breaking out.
He said: "I think opening longer would benefit the town as there are queues up to 3am.
"If we are open when these people are queuing across the road, they are more likely to go to another premises and get served rather than get in disputes."
Mr Dadds also said the police had not provided any evidence to support their assertion that the extension would exacerbate disorder in the town.
However Councillor Peter Jeffree, who sat on the panel, said he was unconvinced by Mr Dadds’ argument as it amounted to opinion rather than evidence.
He said: "Your argument that this will help dispersing people in the town I find, frankly, baffling."
Police Sergeant Ian Smith also mounted a scathing critique of the takeaway’s application, saying the extension was timed to coincide with the closure of the largest club in the town, Oceana.
He told the committee: "I suggest this application is purely profit driven. It will not prevent crime and disorder, it will add to it. I am still baffled as to how letting any kebab establishment, which attracts people, stay open longer can assist with dispersing them. The idea is just ridiculous."
Sergeant Smith added that the shop had previously had later hours and been a "hotbed of crime and disorder".
However, this provoked a complaint from Mr Dadds who said it was unfair to bring up any problems the takeaway may have had before it came under Mr Taze’s ownership.