A cafe on Manchester's famous Curry Mile found to be operating as an illegal shisha bar has been ordered to hand over more than £170,000 and fined.
A court case involving Dubai Cafe on Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, concluded last week, council bosses in Manchester said.
The council said T&M Property Investment Ltd, the owner of a 999-year lease for the property which it let out, has had £174,074 in income confiscated after breaching a planning enforcement notice. The company was also ordered by a crown court judge to pay a fine of £18,750, together with courts costs of £5,700.
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T&M Property Investment Ltd was sentenced at a Manchester Crown Court hearing on May 5 following guilty pleas entered to offences committed under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the council said.
A council spokesman said in a statement: "Working alongside financial Investigators from Salford City Council, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) was also used, which allows the court to issue confiscation orders for money generated by illegal activities.
"The confiscation order on T&M Property Investments Limited of £174,074.79 is payable by 4 August 2023. The fine and court costs are also payable by 4 August 2023."
In September 2018, council enforcement officers became aware that Dubai Cafe, operating from the building owned by T&M Property Investment Ltd, was being operated as a shisha bar in contravention of planning permissions in place for the premises. Officers also noted that physical changes had taken place inside the premises, undertaken without the appropriate planning permission.
An enforcement notice was issued which ordered the landlord to cease the operation as a shisha cafe and remove all works that did not have planning permission.
The statement added: "Despite numerous attempts by the council to secure compliance with the notice, including entering the premises on two occasions to seize shisha pipes and tobacco, it was still being used as a shisha cafe more than four years later."
Councillor Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development, said: "These premises had been operating illegally as a shisha cafe for a number of years and despite receiving enforcement notices from the council to stop, they continued and have now been held to account through the courts.
"Local residents have had to put up with this criminal activity for too long and this judgment – along with the confiscation of their illegally obtained profit – sends a clear message to other businesses flagrantly breaking the law that we are looking for you and we will prosecute. This case also shows that landlords can’t hide behind their tenants – they will be held responsible for criminality in their property.
"Operating a premises without the correct permissions is not only illegal but can also be dangerous.
"It's a welcome result following months of hard work to bring a prosecution and ensure this property is safe."
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