An Indian restaurant owner faced objections from police and licensing officers for the second time in a matter of months after re-applying for a drinks licence for his business.
Rafiqul Islam, 47, wants to serve alcohol from 10am to 11pm at Cardamom, in St James’s Street, Brighton. He has not been legally able to do so since his licence lapsed.
He previously applied for a licence until midnight every day but was turned down after a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel hearing in February.
Mr Islam has since brought in a former colleague and more experienced licence holder, Szabolcs Veres, to work as the designated premises supervisor (DPS) with responsibility for alcohol sales.
But at a licensing panel hearing before three councillors today (Friday 6 June), Sussex Police licensing officer Mark Thorogood listed several issues with the premises since Mr Islam took over.
These included
- The licence lapsing in October 2023
- Alcohol was listed on the menu and a beer pump was still connected in November 2023 even though the premises no longer had a licence
- Trading outside permitted hours and with no functioning closed-circuit television (CCTV) in December 2023
- The battery-operated CCTV was not working in December 2024
The panel was told that the incident log had not been signed off and staff had not received the training that they needed, the licence was found to have lapsed and Mr Islam was given a final warning.
Conservative councillor Ivan Lyons asked what measures would give the police confidence to support Mr Islam’s premises having a licence. Mr Thorogood said that there were none.
He said: “We have raised our concerns around a history of non-compliance and a new proposed DPS.
“We have spent a long time already trying to assist Mr Islam in adhering to the previous premises licences he has held but with no success.”
Mr Thorogood said that the business was small and “not challenging” but the various issues, including trading without a licence, meant that the force had lost confidence in Mr Islam.
Council licensing officer Donna Lynsdale also said that she had no confidence in Mr Islam’s ability to comply with any licence conditions.
Ms Lynsdale said that she visited the business in February to ensure that no alcohol was on sale after the previous licence application was turned down.
Although no alcoholic drinks were on display, they were still included in the menus on the counter.
She said that Mr Islam called her for help with his new licence application and asked her to recommend someone who could help.
Ms Lynsdale said: “Mr Islam stated he believed the reason the last application was refused was because the committee did not like his legal representative.
“This clarifies that Mr Islam is not taking any responsibility for the previous issue – the breaches – or the poor running of the premises.
“Despite providing Mr islam with all the documents and assistance to comply with the previous premises licence, he continued to breach the conditions.”
Mr Islam’s solicitor, Nicholas Perkins, said that the business was small, with space for only 20 to 28 customers at a time, so it was not a “challenging” restaurant.
But it was in the centre of Brighton where there were restrictions on new alcohol licences because of the “saturation” of licensed premises and the associated risks of crime and nuisance.
Mr Perkins said that the site had been a restaurant for many years and would not be adding to the volume of similar businesses in the area.
Without the licence, Mr Perkins said, his client would be “financially ruined”.
He said: “You (the panel) should look at this whole situation afresh. Mr Islam has candidly admitted his failings but that does not mean he should not be given a further opportunity.
“The proposal before you is new, different and you could have confidence in it on the basis that Mr Veres is prepared to be the DPS.
“He’s prepared to take the risk. He has the confidence that going forward these premises will operate correctly.”
Labour councillor Paul Nann asked if conditions could include the number of hours that Mr Veres spent at the premises but he was told that this would not be possible.
The panel – which also included Labour councillor Julie Cattel – retired to make its decision which should be made public within five working days.
