An Indian restaurant owner has had a second application for a drinks licence turned down after objections from Sussex Police and council officials.

Rafiqul Islam, 47, had a licence to serve alcohol at Cardamom, in St James’s Street, Brighton, but it lapsed.

Since then, he has twice applied to Brighton and Hove City Council for a new licence and twice been rebuffed.

At a council licensing panel hearing on Friday, June 6, three councillors were told that the police and licensing officials had no confidence in Mr Islam’s ability to keep to the conditions of a licence.

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Mark Thorogood, from Sussex Police, listed several issues with the premises since Mr Islam took over including

  • the licence lapsing in October 2023
  • alcohol was listed on the menu and a beer pump was still connected in November 2023 even though the premises no longer had a licence
  • trading outside permitted hours and with no functioning closed-circuit television (CCTV) system in December 2023
  • the battery-operated CCTV was not working as required last December

The panel was told the incident log had not been signed off and staff had not received the training they were supposed to have been given.

Mr Islam was given a final warning.

Council licensing officer Donna Lynsdale said she visited the business in February to ensure that no alcohol was on sale after the previous licence application was turned down.

Although no alcoholic drinks were on display, they were still included on the menus on the counter.

Mr Islam’s solicitor, Nicholas Perkins, said the business was small, with space for only 20 to 28 customers at a time so it was not a “challenging” restaurant.

But St James’s Street is in the busy centre of Brighton where the council restricts new drinks licences because of the “saturation” of licensed premises and the link to crime and nuisance.

Mr Perkins said the site had been a restaurant for many years and would not be adding to the volume of similar businesses in the area.

He said without the licence, Mr Islam faced financial ruin.

The panel was told that Mr Islam had also brought in a former colleague and more experienced licence holder, Szabolcs Veres, to be the designated premises supervisor (DPS), responsible for alcohol sales.

But the panel – councillors Julie Cattell, Ivan Lyons and Paul Nann – rejected the latest application.

In a decision letter, the council said: “The history of this premises with the lapse of the licence and the breaches of conditions is of real concern.

“While the panel feel some sympathy for the applicant, it takes very seriously the ongoing concerns of the responsible authorities and has given these much weight

“In the past, both the police and licensing authority have spent time assisting the applicant but still problems and breaches have continued.

“The panel too is very mindful of the location of these premises in … St James’s Street which suffers relatively high levels of crime and disorder.

“It is essential, therefore, that there is good management in accordance with the licensing regime and conditions on the licence.”