An illegal shisha cafe on the Curry Mile in Manchester has had a huge sum of cash confiscated and been slapped with a hefty fine.
Dubai Cafe on Wilmslow Road has had £174,074 of income confiscated for breaching a planning enforcement notice and operating as an illegal shisha cafe.
T&M Property Investment Ltd – the owner of the lease for the property – has also been ordered to pay an £18,750 fine and court costs of £5,700.
It was back in September 2018 that enforcement officers from Manchester City Council noticed that Dubai Cafe in Rusholme was being operated as a shisha bar.
The Curry Mile premises had also been altered without appropriate planning permission.
ADVERTISEMENT
The landlord was ordered to cease operating as a shisha cafe and put right all the works made without planning permission through an enforcement notice – which was ignored.
The Council entered the property on two occasions to seize shisha pipes and tobacco, but more than four years later found that Dubai Cafe was still being used as a shisha bar.
ADVERTISEMENT
T&M Property Investment Ltd was sentenced following a guilty plea at a Manchester Crown Court hearing on Friday 5 May to offences committed under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Councillor Gavin White, executive member for Housing and Development, said: “These premises had been operating illegally as a shisha café for a number of years and despite receiving enforcement notices from the Council to stop, they continued and have now been held to account through the courts.
“Local residents have had to put up with this criminal activity for too long and this judgement – along with the confiscation of their illegally obtained profit – sends a clear message to other businesses flagrantly breaking the law that we are looking for you and we will prosecute.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This case also shows that landlords can’t hide behind their tenants – they will be held responsible for criminality in their property.
“Operating a premises without the correct permissions is not only illegal but can also be dangerous. It’s a welcome result following months of hard work to bring a prosecution and ensure this property is safe.”
Featured image: Manchester City Council
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.