It has been confirmed that a Burnage cafe at the centre of a widely-reported police investigation following a scuffle between an officer and the venue owner has officially been stripped of its licence.
It comes after a Closure Order for Kate & Luc Cafe Restaurantwas issued at Manchester Magistrates’ Court last month, with the cafe described as “the source of frequent complaints from the public to Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police over failures to follow COVID-19 restrictions”.
The owners were then told to close the premised until 9th May and pay legal costs of £3,586.52.
At the time, Manchester City Council said that breaches at the cafe dated back to November 2020, with staff previously refusing to wear masks or put up protective screens and making “no effort” to enforce social distancing.
Two separate Fixed Penalty Notices were issued in early February, along with a Premises Closure Warning, but the cafe continued to operate.
Now, a Manchester City Council licence review hearing was told on Monday that owner Lucjan Domanski showed a “flagrant disregard” for public health at the Kate & Luc Cafe Restaurant during lockdown after Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council licensing officials made five visits to the premises in January and February following the receiving reports of it being “rammed” with people.
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The licensee refused to accept that he was breaking the rules, the hearing was told.
Mr Domanski told the hearing that he had suffered a mental health breakdown as he struggled to apply for financial support for his business during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the council’s licensing subcommittee described his behaviour as “appalling” and PC Alan Isherwood – of Greater Manchester Police’s licensing team – said it was “clear that Mr Domanski is unfit to hold the licence”.
A representative of Mr Domanski said he had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder and that the enforcement visits had caused him distress, “impeded his actions” and provoked a “fight or flight response”.
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Mr Domanski said: “We tried hard with all the restrictions, we lost 85 to 90% of income. We just couldn’t do it and I gave up. I had no choice, that was my feeling.
“I’ve got a problem with depression for nine to 10 years, I’ve been on and off medicines. It’s too much stress for me.”
Greater Manchester Police / Manchester City Council
Mr Domanski admitted to the hearing that he had broken COVID regulations, but that he did so while “under duress”, and asked the committee to give him the chance to open in a COVID-secure way, however the hearing panel agreed to revoke the licence, meaning that the business will no longer have permission to trade.
The hearing panel said in a statement: “The reasons for revocation are the flagrant disregard by the premises holder for COVID regulations.
“The committee are absolutely appalled at how the premises licence holder treated the officers, and they have no confidence that the licensing objectives will be upheld due to the actions taken by the premise silence holder during this pandemic.
“A measured approach was taken by GMP and Manchester council officers to work with this premises licence holder, however he clearly has not cooperated whatsoever”.
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Attempted murder arrest and witness appeal after four injured in Altrincham attack
Daisy Jackson
An appeal for witnesses of an attack in Altrincham has been issued by police, after four people were left injured.
Shortly after 3.20am on Sunday 30 November, emergency services were called to reports of a disturbance on Railway Street.
The attack left a man in his 20s with life-changing facial injuries, a 21-year-old male with a chest wound, and a 51-year-old male and 52-year-old female with minor injuries.
The man with the chest wound remains in a serious but stable condition.
Officers have arrested a 24-year-old male from the Partington area on suspicion of attempted murder and section 18 assault – he remains in custody for questioning.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing for information and witnesses to anyone who may have seen the incident.
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Dixon said: “We are appealing to anyone in the area to come forward who may have witnessed an altercation on Railway Street before a white male in his 20s ran down the street towards Altrincham Interchange.
“Anyone with information is encouraged to call 101 or report information via our website quoting log 484 of 30.11.2025. Information can also be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
“We appreciate the concern that communities may feel during an incident of this nature. We’d like to ask members of the public not to speculate and would like reassure communities that this incident is believed to be isolated.
“Thank you to the community and our retail partners for their co-operation throughout today regarding the disruption that has been caused during our investigation. Officers will remain in and around Altrincham town centre as we continue to conduct our enquiries.”
Greater Manchester stadiums included in the bid to host the Women’s World Cup confirmed
Danny Jones
The locations for the official UK bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been revealed, along with the Greater Manchester football stadiums chosen for the honour.
Not exactly a ground-breaking spoiler, but the FA did make a somewhat curious choice when they shared the news.
In case you hadn’t heard the news earlier this year, our nation has officially thrown its hat into the ring for the Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2035, with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all set to offer up their arenas as part of the record-breaking proposal.
Naturally, a region as footy-obsessed as ours and with two of the biggest stadiums in the country was always going to be included, but as mentioned, there was a particular detail that lots of people quickly noticed following the announcement.
Yes, in a slightly bizarre but ultimately innocuous turn of events, Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City FC – has been selected, as was the world-famous ‘Theatre of Dreams‘, the only difference being that it was listed separately from the city itself.
Instead, Man United’s iconic home turf, Old Trafford, has been listed as just that: in Trafford, specifically, as opposed to simply being listed in the same section as its sky blue counterpart.
Now, while it’s true that all 10 boroughs have their own identity, culture (not to mention some subscribing to still being part of Lancashire or even Cheshire), it did strike us and others as a bit odd to put that rather iconic and equally historic venue down as almost separate from the city.
Many would argue that one of the things Manchester is best known for around the globe is the team of Red Devils that play at that ground.
Naturally, ‘Cityzens‘ have had their fair share of fun with the post and, conversely, there’s been plenty of retorts regarding ‘supporters from Stockport’, as you would expect…
Nevertheless, we’re just glad to see the Etihad and Old Trafford continuing to cater to some of the biggest dates on the sporting calendar.
Some have actually argued that the region should have been given opportunities to host more stadiums and/or games as part of the market pitch, as the likes of both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic’s stadiums were floated as viable or even better alternatives, capacity-wise.
Either way, with the 22 venues that have been selected for the UK’s bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup and us Brits currently unopposed in the race to secure the tournament, the FA are going all-in for the 48-team competition, which would be “the biggest single-sport event ever staged in the UK.”
You can read more down below.
Our shared ambition: to host the largest single-sport event ever staged in the UK, and the first FIFA World Cup in this country since 1966.#AllTogetherpic.twitter.com/y6GOPEPDdG
The Manc -
16th March 2021 
