By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A bistro in Nottingham has been granted a licence to serve food until 3am despite one resident’s concerns over noise.
PNKS Bistro Lounge, in Wollaton Street, opened in August. It serves burgers, fried chicken, ribs and fries.
At a Licensing Panel meeting on November 28, Nottingham City Council granted the venue licensing to open an extra three hours, until 3am.
But one resident raised concerns over noise and anti social behaviour.
Adeel Karim, Director at Pnks Bistro Lounge, said the venue had been open for 16 weeks.
He told the panel: “It has been a huge success so far. When we took on the premises it already had a licence until 3am.
“We were under the impression that when taking on this location, the license was carried forward. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.
“That was a bit of a kick in the teeth as a lot of our customers are students.
“There are no other food places on Wollaton Street, it is quite derelict.
“This has brought out a lot of the students and we have had a lot of requests for late night refreshments.
“It would be a massive positive for us to stay open for late licensing. There is no alcohol on the premises, it is specifically to serve hot food.”
He said there is no seating inside after midnight. He added there will be no music and CCTV is also set up.
Cllr Audrey Dinnall, Chair, said a “lengthy document” had been submitted to the panel by a concerned resident.
She said: “Some of the concerns are about the noise at night and not being able to sleep.
“I wondered if you had any comments about that.”
Mr Karim replied: “We are surrounded by students.
“Adjacent to us is a HMO (House of Multiple Occupation) of 12 students, behind us is another HMO of 18 students and across the road is 3,500 students.
“I don’t think we will be causing any more concern as to what’s already there.
“It’s the city centre, I don’t believe us staying open an extra three hours will make a difference.”
Tahira Lee, from the council’s legal team, added: “The suggestion is that the increase in anti-social behaviour and noise has exacerbated since the opening of PNKS.
“There were concerns around noise and anti-social behaviour.
Mr Karim said: “I’m fully aware that this has been raised because we are concerned about it as well.
“There is a flat where there is a lot of anti-social behaviour. They are not students.”
He said he had not received any complaints about noise or anti-social behaviour.
Concluding, Cllr Dinnall said: “The panel are minded to grant the application subject to conditions agreed with Nottinghamshire police relating to CCTV and door supervision.
“However should any problems occur in the future, powers should as the right of review exist.”
The venue will now be permitted to open Monday to Sunday from 11pm to 3am.
