Restaurant granted alcohol licence after refusing to serve drinkers on Otley Run
Restaurant granted licence after it agreed not to serve drinkers on Otley Run
A Vietnamese restaurant has been granted an alcohol licence after agreeing not to serve drinkers on a famous pub crawl.
Lam’s Kitchen, on Otley Road in Headingley, faced objections after applying to serve drinks until 10.30pm daily.
The premises is on the route of the Otley Run, which draws thousands of fancy dress pub crawlers to the area at weekends.
Leeds City Council received 13 letters raising concerns that another alcohol venue could add to anti-social behaviour on the crawl.
One said: “In recent years I have been dismayed by the transformation of the area as a consequence of the exponential expansion of the Otley Run.”
Vu Tran, who runs the restaurant, told councillors he was planning to expand the business and create jobs.
He said: “We’ve got plans to refurbish the shop, to make it better for the community. We are hiring more employees.”
When asked if he agreed with measures to exclude Otley Runners from the premises, Mr Tran said: “I’m very happy with that.”
The licensing sub-committee hearing was told West Yorkshire Police first objected to the licence application.
But the police objection was withdrawn after an agreement was reached with the premises operators.
Councillors were told the venue is in a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA), designated as suffering from high levels of alcohol-related disorder.
Long-running complaints have been made over rowdy behaviour on the Otley Run, with licence applications in the area facing multiple objections.
Councillors approved the Lam’s Kitchen licence application, subject to a list of conditions.
They included not promoting the restaurant as an Otley Run venue, no access for pub crawlers in fancy dress and signage to deter people on the crawl.
Alcohol would only be served with food to seated customers and no tables and chairs would be placed outside.