A Brighton restaurant could lose its 3am licence over claims that it breached its licence on several occasions and employed an illegal immigrant.
The claims emerged in heavily redacted meeting papers for a licence review, to be conducted by a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel next Monday (6 October).
The panel, made up of three councillors, will decide whether Zaf’ron, in North Road, Brighton, should be allowed to retain its late-night refreshment licence and if so, whether it should be modified.
Sussex Police submitted the application for a review but the bulk of its evidence has been withheld because of an active criminal investigation.
An intruder smashed up the restaurant and attacked staff on successive days and the staff took steps to defend themselves.
The perpetrator, a 63-year-old Brighton man, was given a community resolution, requiring him to pay for the cost of repairing the damage after the first incident.
When he returned about 24 hours later, he was subdued by staff and the investigation is understood to be looking at whether the staff went beyond reasonable self-defence in protecting themselves and the premises.
Four members of staff were arrested. Three of them remain on police bail while the incident is investigated. The fourth man was released and faces no further action.
The latest review follows two meetings held in secret last month when a previous attempt to review the licence failed because the council and police applied the law incorrectly.
They used a procedure intended to deal with premises that have a drinks licence. Zaf’ron does nor serve alcohol.
In applying for the latest review, Sussex Police listed a series of alleged licence breaches dating back to November 2023 – before the current licence which was granted just over a year ago.
Some of the breaches involve trading after hours. Some are more technical such as keeping security camera footage for 30 days instead of 31 days.
A licensing check in January found, among other things, that the premises did not appear to have door staff or to have carried out a risk assessment.
It was not a member of the Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership, even though this was a condition of the late-night refreshment licence.
Police also noted noise complaints linked to customers, delivery vehicles and building work in the early hours on six occasions in May and June this year. Some delivery drivers parked illegally.
The council had previously written to the business about licence breaches and had even sent a formal written warning.
Ok chap has come over from Afghanistan a couple of years ago, that response at the end of the article is 100% written for him rather than by him lol i would bet my house on it. It says enough, throwing money at the problem by getting consultants, rather than just admitting that a 3am licence is completely inappropriate for the area for someone completely out of their depth.
The geniuses who green lit this license in the first place are to blame equally. If the police are saying No to a kebab shop, they probably know what they are talking about.