Indian restaurant Jinnah on Cheltenham Parade has had an application to sell food and drink outside approved despite concerns that it could contribute to “unsavoury behaviour” late into the night on nearby streets.
Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee met this morning online to approve the new conditions. It also allows Jinnah to sell alcohol off the premises with a meal after 10 pm through delivery services.
The restaurant already has a licence to sell food and drink inside the building between 10:00 am to 00:00 am Monday to Saturday and 12:00 pm to 22:30 pm on Sunday but they wanted to change it to sell food and drink outside until 10.30pm.
Since reopening in July after the lockdown, Jinnah put tables outside for customers to eat and drink. However, its existing licence only allows customers to order food while inside the premises.
A nearby resident spoke to the committee and said he objected to the potential extra noise that people eating and drinking outside could cause. He said it leads to “unsavoury behaviour” near his house.
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He said:
“There’s an element of ‘unsavoury behaviour’ that happens on the backstreet that will be compounded by the ability to serve outside later into the evening. People will smoke on the street and sit on the wall. It can be disturbing and goes on late into the evening.”
Ms Katrina Cowton, speaking on behalf of Jinnah, said the restaurant wanted customers to “enjoy the outside ambience” during the summer months.
She said:
“We’re not wanting it to be a like a bar, it’s for a dining experience. The owners of Jinnah are very family-oriented and we do take it into consideration that residents are nearby. We don’t want to have an impact on their family life.”