Diner given permission to be open until 4am despite noise concerns

A Sheffield diner has been granted permission to extend its opening hours until 4am despite the concerns of a resident.

Sheffield City Council's licensing sub-committee met earlier today, May 20, to discuss the application by Abaseen Diner on the Wicker to extend its opening hours. It is currently open between 2pm and 2am seven days a week, but applied to extend this to 11am until 4am.

One person, a local resident, objected to the plans, saying the area was a "highly densely populated residential area" and that the opening hours could result in anti-social behaviour and traffic.

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They added: "The premise sits on the corner of the Wicker and Stanley Street. Stanley Street already has problems with poor/illegal parking and is used as a ‘rat run’ by many drivers."

In a second email, they said they were also worried about the noise as well as the impact of potential delivery drivers. The applicant said in response that there were other eateries open until 4am in the area and that not approving the extension would be "discriminatory" in their belief.

They added that the premise had a prayer area and the majority of the clientele were Muslim, so alcohol consumption would not be an issue.

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The objector said they did not object to the business itself, but that the opening times proposed were a bit "excessive" and that he was worried about the extra traffic and noise the opening hours would bring. Councillor Karen McGowan asked whether the business was causing any issues, and the objector said there was "certainly" more rubbish in the area and a bit more noise.

They also said the area the business was operating was a "strange" one, and people might not think it was a residential area, with some people driving at high speeds through 20-30mph zones. The objector said the road was double-parked "night and day", and was dangerous.

The applicant's representative said the applicant agreed with the police on a number of things to reduce anti-social behaviour around the premises. He also added that three other restaurants in the area were open during the proposed hours.

Coun McGowan asked about the concerns around deliveries, whether there were reassurances that there won’t be additional delivery slots which would result in more traffic around the business. She was told that the diner relied on deliveries as well and business was open for orders while welcoming people in the restaurant as well.

After a short recess, the licensing committee decided to grant the licence.