A Southall fast food restaurant has been refused permission to stay open until 2am after failing to attend a council licensing hearing.
Hot Birdies, located at 150 The Broadway, had applied to extend its opening hours from 11pm to 2am every day of the week.
The restaurant, which describes itself as “the UK’s go-to destination for Nashville Hot Chicken”, currently operates between 11.30am and 11pm and is situated beneath residential flats. The application was considered by Ealing Council’s licensing subcommittee on 22 July.
Although the business agreed to a range of conditions requested by the Metropolitan Police, including CCTV monitoring, staff training requirements and an incident log, the application was ultimately refused. Police licensing officers confirmed they had no objections to the proposal after the conditions were accepted.
However, local resident Hanan Mussa objected, arguing that later opening hours would increase noise, anti-social behaviour and disruption for nearby residents. She told the committee that late-night food outlets often become gathering points for people leaving nearby pubs and venues.
Ms Mussa said: “Late-night hot food venues frequently act as gathering points for individuals leaving nearby pubs. This accumulation of crowds late at night historically escalates anti-social behaviour, verbal disputes, and general street disorder.”
She added that extending trading hours would negatively affect the peace, safety and wellbeing of residents living nearby.
The committee also expressed concerns that neither the applicant nor a representative from the business attended the hearing to answer questions.
Delivering the decision, committee chair Cllr Kim Kaur Nagpal said members were not convinced the applicant understood the challenges associated with operating late-night premises in Southall. She said: “The subcommittee are also concerned that the applicant was not present at the hearing, and that there was no evidence of operational experience in providing late night refreshment beyond 11pm.”
Councillors also highlighted concerns about customer noise, delivery riders, litter and the impact on residents living above the premises.
The committee concluded that additional licence conditions would not be enough to address those concerns and unanimously rejected the application.
