Alcohol licence rejected after police objection

A shisha bar has had its alcohol licence application rejected after police lodged an objection.

The owner of Diamond Shisha Lounge in Canterbury had applied to sell alcohol from 12:00 to 23:00 every day to boost the struggling business.

Canterbury City Council threw out the plans following Kent Police's submission, which included images appearing to show shisha pipes near a disused toilet covered in cling film.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the lounge's owner, Daniel Sbhatlab, said the site had been cleaned since, adding: "It's clean now, it's not like before now I changed everything. I refreshed the place."

Kent Police cited suspected drug activity, antisocial behaviour and public urination, and said the owner's knowledge of licensing rules was "wholly inadequate".

PC Dani Rolfe told the licensing committee on Wednesday that behaviour around the lounge was fuelling community concerns and placing further demands on police resources.

The police objection also identified "areas of concern both internally and externally, particularly regarding hygiene standards and the storage and preparation of shisha products".

The application was also objected to by three residents.

Sbhatlab, who has failed to secure a licence four times over procedural issues, said he may now have to close the venue.

He said: "Business is not well for these last two years.

"Almost every night for the past two years I closed at 22:00, maybe 23:00, because there's no customers.

"I'm a good young businessman, I run my business well and I'm a very careful person."

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