Noise, cooking smells and smoke from a burger bar were blighting neighbour’s lives, a resident told a council licensing panel hearing today (Monday 2 June).
But Burger King franchise owner Jason Kennedy said that he brought in outsiders to check for smoke and smells and they couldn’t detect any.
The conflict of evidence played out as the licensing panel, made up of three councillors, prepared to decide whether to approve a late-night refreshment licence for a Burger King branch in Hove.
The branch, at the Goldstone Retail Park, in Old Shoreham Road, wants a late-night refreshment licence from 11pam to 5am, enabling the premises to trade 24/7.
Three neighbours spelt out their concerns, which also included litter and anti-social behaviour, and they were supported by one of their ward councillors.
Labour councillor Jackie O’Quinn, who represents Goldsmid ward, used to chair Brighton and Hove City Council’s Licensing Committee.
Councillor Jackie O’Quinn said that she was aware that many people in the area around the Goldstone Retail Park area were troubled by noise and anti-social behaviour.
Currently, the noise had stopped at 11pm when all the shops and restaurants were closed, she said. But allowing Burger King to stay open from 11pm to 5am would give neighbours no respite.
She added: “It’s having places open that encourages people, especially young people, to go there. This is also well away from the town centre.
“It doesn’t need it in this area. There are plenty of places that people can call for a late-night delivery. I know there are other places that have a very late licence, for this company, where there aren’t many residents around.”
Robert Glick, of Goldstone Lane, close to Burger King’s premises, said that the neighbourhood was blighted by noise, cooking smells and smoke from venues in the retail park – and these caused neighbours stress.
He said that neighbours had not complained to the business or to environmental health because they did not feel that they would be listened to, having objected to planning applications for Burger King in 1999 and neighbouring Nando’s.
Mr Glick said: “There is smoke. We can smell it. We know it’s there. All that affects us in health ways, both in terms of our lungs and the stress of knowing that it’s going on, as well as the frustration of not being able to make our objections successfully over the years.
“We’ve had many objections to many different applications and it all gets quite tiresome and sometimes I can understand why some residents aren’t interested in joining in yet another discussion.
“They think, oh well, it’s another one. It’s not going to go anywhere. We’re never going to win any of these.”
The Burger King franchise is run by Leon Kennedy Ltd, owned by Jason Kennedy, 49, and Justin Kennedy, 46. The company also runs two branches in Brighton.
Jason Kennedy said that, after reading the objections, he carried out several extra visits to the site and brought other managers along but could not see smoke or smell fumes.
He said that the restaurant’s ducts were cleaned every two months and the extractor fan was just three years old.
Alex Tomlinson, the solicitor for Leon Kennedy Ltd, said that the company had agreed draft licence conditions with Sussex Police. These included restricting trade from 11pm to 5am to drive-through customers only.
He said that the Goldstone Retail Park’s owner had an automatic number plate reader (ANPR) which restricted visitors to no more than 10 minutes in the car park after 11pm.
One of the members of the licensing panel, Labour councillor Andrei Czolak, asked what was to prevent customers on bicycles from stopping and eating in the outdoor area after using the drive-through.
Mr Tomlinson said: “We’d be able to see them, in the first instance, so we would ask them to move on. Mr (Athar) Mobin (the manager) would be there with staff and would ask them to move on.
“If they wouldn’t and were reluctant, we would call our security services … They use a mobile unit and they would ask them to move on and hopefully that would be sufficient.”
Mobile security support was not a requirement in the original draft licence conditions but was mentioned as a potential condition by the panel which included Labour councillor Julie Cattell and Green councillor Kerry Pickett.
The panel retired to makes its decision which should be made public within five working days.
I mean, if you live next to a retail park, I think the expectation should be to expect retail. I’d also suggest that Old Shoreham Road is probably more impactful in terms of noise.
Retail doesn’t have to be a 24/7 operation and any 24/7 need is already met many times over. Also, the residents are raising concerns about Burger King – not the road.
Anyhow, you’d think the costs associated with opening round the clock are higher than profits from selling a relatively small amount of food and drink after 11pm.
Reasonable points. I do wonder the value of opening overnight. Maybe it helps to displace tasks that are tricky to do during the day?
Now they can serve terrible undercooked food 24 hours a day. Truly the worst franchise in Burger king
What on earth is a “Retail Park”? This is a bunch of sheds made worse by the unhealthy stuff (it cannot be called food) shovelled up by Burger King in a bid to pile on flesh and stop hearts. The place is less a king, more a tyrant.
Try looking up the definition of “Retail Park” at your local library, or try https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_park
And, of course, you are not forced to visit and are free to use vegetarian restaurants elsewhere.
How does someone who doesn’t know what a retail park is, become a Councillor?! Even if it was for the Greens, surely there are standards?
Shouldn’t happen. No one should ever expect live next to a 24hour retail premises where ever their home is!
This is a whopper of a story
I know what a “Retail Park” is as I call it was it really is – a bunch of sheds. There is nothing parklike to it, not a hint of grass. The expression is absurd, a debasement of language – something as bleak as the place itself.
Retail parks don’t need to have grass, and where are the “sheds”?
Perhaps try clicking the link I provided to educate yourself, and visit the Goldstone site to see what it is actually like.
You can guarantee the council won’t support the residents like they haven’t for the Veolia rubbish dump in Hollingbury. And why should somewhere stay open so late. Do they really need the customers. Just sounds like a greedy operator.
Noisy young people will gather and annoy the neighbours.What are they doing at 4.00 am in the morning?
Grabbing a Whopper, by the sounds of it. Loud chewing sounds.