Brighton Restaurant Faces Objections To Alcohol Licence Application

An Indian restaurant owner faces objections to his second application for a drinks licence after Sussex Police and licensing officials said that they had no confidence in him.

Rafiqul Islam has applied for a new premises licence to sell alcohol from 10am to 11pm at Cardamom, in St James’s Street, after his licence lapsed.

He previously applied for a licence until midnight every day in February but was turned down after a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel hearing.

His latest application is due to go before a panel of three councillors next Friday (6 June).

Mr Islam’s solicitor, Nicholas Perkins, said that Mr Islam would not be the designated premises supervisor (DPS), the person who would have responsibility for alcohol sales.

Since the earlier licence refusal, Mr Islam has completed a course on alcohol sales and licensing law awareness, with the training endorsed by the Institute of Hospitality.

Inspector Ben Morrison said, in the Sussex Police objection, that the proposed new DPS, Szabolcs Veres, would be in place part-time for a limited time which “does not fill us with confidence”.

The force also had no record of Mr Veres working in Sussex. His licence was issued in Portsmouth.

Inspector Morrison cited the previous reasons for refusing the licence:

• The lack of a transfer resulting in the licence lapsing in October 2023

• Alcohol listed on the menu and a beer pump still connected despite no licence in November 2023

• Trading outside permitted hours, with no functioning closed-circuit television (CCTV), in December 2023, with the relevant part of the licence not on display and gaps in the incident and training log books

• Battery-operated CCTV was not working, in December 20244, with no signing off of the incident log and no staff training, after which the licence was found to have lapsed and Mr Islam was given a final warning

Inspector Morrison said:

“The suggestion that the new DPS will be part-time and for a limited period does not fill us with confidence with what will happen at the premises when he is not there and eventually leaves.

“Mr Islam is still the premises licence holder, employing Mr Veres, so in the background running the venue.

“Mr Islam has had the assistance of licensing consultants in the past and not been able to comply with his conditions.”

Council licensing officer Donna Lynsdale listed the same breaches and added that council policy restricted new licences in the busy centre of Brighton becaue it was “saturated” with businesses selling alcohol.

She added that, after the previous licensing panel hearing on Monday 3 February which resulted in refusal, she visited the business on Friday 14 February and found menus advertising alcohol on display.

The licensing panel hearing is due to start at 10am next Friday (6 June). It will be an online-only hearing and is due to be webcast.