Council chiefs revoke licence for Harehills bar and restaurant

A bar and restaurant has lost its licence after being accused of opening beyond its permitted hours.

Red Sea, on Shaftesbury Parade in Harehills, was alleged to have repeatedly breached its premises licence conditions.

Councillors were told five visits were carried out by police and licensing officers between September and January following noise complaints.

Council licensing officer Victoria Radford said: “Most significantly, CCTV confirmed that the premises had been operating well beyond its permitted hours of operation.”

A licensing sub-committee was told the premises was in a community blighted by alcohol-related crime and disorder.

PC Neil Haywood said: “This is an area that has a lot of problems with licensed activities.”

The hearing was told CCTV footage had not been provided when requested by West Yorkshire Police.

The venue had failed to display its licence documents and there was a lack of alcohol measuring equipment, Leeds City Council said.

Compliance with licence conditions had improved when the premises, near the junction of Harehills Lane and York Road, was visited in October.

But things had deteriorated when further visits were carried out.

PC Haywood said: “We have tried to improve the operation of the venue but it’s just not working.”

The hearing was told a separate application had been made to change the management of the premises.

Tim Saleh, representing Red Sea, said other businesses nearby were not subject to the same amount of scrutiny.

He said: “They have shown that they can improve on some of the breaches.”

Mussie Azeze, who helps run Red Sea, said there were no residential properties above or adjacent to the venue.

He said: “No residents, from what we know, have brought any complaints.”

Councillors revoked the licence at the hearing on Tuesday at Leeds Civic Hall.

Red Sea Bar and Restaurant would have 21 days to appeal at a magistrates’ court.