Bosses at Southend seafront restaurant ordered to tear down 'unauthorised' signs

BOSSES at a Southend seafront restaurant have been given two months to tear down a sign installed without planning permission.

Southend Council is continuing its clampdown on unauthorised signs and has approved enforcement action against Deshi Grille, in Marine Parade.

Bosses installed a bright purple and yellow sign back in 2021 and, according to the council, have ignored repeated requests to apply for retrospective planning permission.

The restaurant sits at the bottom of Pier Hill in between Scoops 37 and Circus Circus Amusements which have both been threatened with enforcement action after having retrospective plans for their bright signs refused.

Following the meeting on Wednesday, the restaurant will now have two months to remove the sign.

Matt Dent, Labour councillor for Kursaal Ward, was among those who voted to issue the enforcement notice. Speaking after the meeting, he said: “We are all keen to see businesses who want to invest and smarten up but there is a proper way to go about things.

“It’s important that businesses with signs that require planning permission actually take the steps of getting that planning permission to ensure the policies are met and things are followed properly.

“In this circumstance, that hasn’t happened and attempts by the council to engage with the proprietor have been met with silence and ultimately the committee felt they had no choice but to authorise with enforcement action.

“The important thing is the council has these policies for a reason and it’s important that we abide by them.”

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Despite a warning, a site visit and an instruction to submit a retrospective planning application, the owner of the business has failed to take action.

In July 2021, a letter was dispatched to the business owner, requesting the submission of a retrospective planning application.

Despite the communication, a follow-up site visit in December 2022 showed the unauthorised sign still in place. Council representatives sent an additional letter in June 2023.

Southend Council say no contact was made by the owner and a final warning was sent by the council in September 2023. The restaurant sits within the Clifftown Conservation Area and Southend Council is cracking down on unauthorised shopfronts in the area.

The restaurant was approached for a comment.