It comes after a Cheshire Police licensing officer said that the establishment, proposed to be a ‘fine dining restaurant’, was more comparable to a sports bar.
Applicant Krishna Kumar Eswaran sought the grant of a premises licence for Dosa Pizza, based in numbers 24 to 36 Bridge Street.
However, Warrington Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee rejected the application due to it ‘not adequately upholding the licensing objective of crime and disorder and public nuisance’.
The premises in question is the two-story former Haniz World Buffet building, the ground floor of which accommodates a farmer’s market grocery store and a Turkish kitchen, while the first floor operates as a south Indian kitchen, documents state.
The bid looked to secure a licence for the premises to open from 11am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and from 11am to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
During the 28-day representation period, the licensing authority received an objection from Cheshire Police and representations from Environmental Health and Trading Standards.
Cheshire Police said that granting the licence ‘would undermine the licensing objective of preventing crime and disorder’.
This followed a multi-agency visit to the premises on April 22, where evidence was found of alcohol being on display without a valid licence in place.
“There appears to be some confusion about what the premises operating model is, as the layout of the premises was neither a shop nor a restaurant,” the officer said.
“Upon talking to a man who is to be the manager of the premises, he advised that the premises is no longer going to operate as a shop, with the operating model to change to a fine dining restaurant.
A multi-agency visit was paid to the premises on Bridge Street in Warrington town centre (Image: Cheshire Police/WBC)
“I asked him, once the shop shelving was removed, whether they planned to increase the seating capacity, and if they were keeping the pool tables, as these are not appropriate for a fine dining restaurant set up.
“He stated that the pool tables were staying, and that they planned to turn the area at the far end of the premises, which currently forms part of the shop area selling spices and household goods, into a darts area.
“It is the police’s view that the operator is going to run the premises more as a sports bar and vertical drinking establishment rather than a restaurant or shop as described in the operating model and, as such, the information contained in the application is inaccurate and misleading.”
According to the report, the officer states that the tenant ‘is well known to both Cheshire Police and Warrington Borough Council as he has run a number of licensed premises in Warrington’.
“He is not known for running well-run or safe premises, and he has also had a number of licences revoked over the years due to crime and disorder, and his failure to comply with conditions on the premises licence,” the officer writes.
In his objection, the officer concludes: “It is the police’s view that, should a licence be granted for this premises, there is a high risk that it will undermine the licensing objectives, particularly that of prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.
“The applicants have already demonstrated that they have little understanding or regard for the Licensing Act 2003, the Business and Planning Act 2020, and ensuring that they are compliant with all legislation involved in running such a premises.
“The conflicting information provided in the application versus the information provided by the future manager gives further cause for concern regarding the accuracy of the operating model provided as part of this application and how the premises will be managed.
“We would request that the licensing committee refuse this application in its entirety.
“The police have considered whether any suitable conditions could be imposed to allow the premises to operate.
“We do not believe that this is an option, as the applicants have already demonstrated their complete lack of regard for the legislation, and we do not believe that they would adhere to any conditions imposed.”
