Licence granted for grill despite previous objections

Licence granted for grill despite previous objections

Rhi Storer - Local Democracy Reporter | Wednesday 13th July 2022 1:55pm

A grill with a twenty year history has had its licence approved this week, despite previous objections from traders over public nuisance, security concerns and litter. 

Taqi’s Grill, located in Sparkbrook, has been granted a licence by Birmingham city council to operate following negotiations with West Midlands Police to reduce their trading hours. The grill will now open from 11pm – midnight seven days a week. 

It had previously requested licensed hours to be 11pm until 1am indoors Monday to Thursday, and 2am as takeaway or delivery only. Friday to Sunday were to trade 11pm until 2am indoors, and 3am as takeaway or delivery only.

Conditions set on Taqi’s Grill require CCTV to capture images, particularly outside under conditions of low lighting, staff to be present during operating hours and trained on the Licensing Act 2003, and litter patrols to be conducted every two hours in the vicinity of the premises.

In its report, Birmingham city council’s licensing committee noted the company belonging to an associate of Taqi’s Grill, Salah Bakeel Abdul-Rahman, had been operating as a café for twenty years previously, and confirmed the proposal was to operate as a straightforward takeaway restaurant.

A previous licence meeting for Taqi’s Grill was heard in June this year. Two tenants of the Montgomery Street business centre, within the same business park as Taqi’s Grill, had raised objections to the customers the restaurant attracts. 

Alex McDonagh, one of the directors for Montgomery Street business centre, had previously said: “We are not against Taqi’s Grill operating as a cafe, it’s doing really well. It’s really successful. It’s just the customers accessing the gate and coming into the business sector and the disruption that’s causing us.

“Over the last three years since the council have tried to sell off the site, we’ve not received the services that we pay for. And you know, the site has CCTV, we have fly-tipping coming in, we have instances of antisocial behaviour. That’s all recorded on CCTV, and none of it gets pursued.” 

Other questions were raised by Birmingham city council’s own planning department, which alleged the restaurant did not appear to have “permission for use” as a hot food takeaway” and was already under investigation by the council’s planning enforcement team.

But Birmingham city council’s licensing department were “not convinced” by the objections raised by the traders, and noted both planning and licensing committees were “two entirely separate regimes”.

They noted: “It appeared that the tenants of the business park had various complaints which related to the general operation of the site, rather than anything which related directly to Taqi’s Grill. [Licence committee members] asked those making representations if they had raised such concerns with their local councillor. The persons confirmed that they had not. 

“Members therefore considered that the complaints about the operation of the site should be addressed to the councillor in the first instance. The sub-committee was satisfied that trading would be safe, and noted that the applicant company was keen to work with its neighbours. 

“Certainly the applicant company’s willingness to reduce the hours gave reassurance that problems were unlikely to arise. The other tenants of the business park had been advised to speak to their councillor with a view to resolving their complaints; if that did not succeed, and the source of the problem was the applicant, the correct course would be to bring a review of the licence.”

Appeals to the decision by Birmingham city council can be made within twenty-one days of the date of notification of the decision.

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