The meeting refused an application to extend the late night opening hours of Rana Kebab House in Stranraer. The Panel deferred a decision on the late night opening hours of the Square Apple in Dumfries because the applicant’s translator was unable to attend the meeting. The Panel also refused an application for a taxi driver's licence on the grounds that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence, and agreed to grant another application for a taxi driver’s licence for a period of two years.

Rana Kebab House, 56 George Street, Stranraer

The panel considered an application from Mr Muhammad Akhtar to extend the late night opening hours of Rana Kebab House.

The current licence permits the business to open until 1.30am from Sunday to Thursday, and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. Mr Akhtar requested permission to open until 2.30am every Saturday, and on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and 2 and 3 January.

Wigtown Late Hours Catering Policy states that late night catering businesses in the area should not open after midnight from Sunday to Wednesday, and should not open later than 1am from Thursday to Saturday.

Rana Kebab House was already operating outside of the council’s policy, under conditions imposed by the council on 25 June 2021, when a previous request for late night opening was granted. The conditions required the installation and maintenance of CCTV in the kebab shop and for the licence holder to obtain all the appropriate permissions from the council to legally operate the business.

Chief Superintendent Steven Meikle of Police Scotland objected to the application. In a letter to the council, he said that there had been 29 crimes and 26 incidents of antisocial behaviour in the area in the previous 12 months, between midnight and 4am. He noted that “incidents significantly increase between 0000 hours and 0400 hours on Sunday mornings and throughout the festive period”.

The request for Rana to close each Saturday night and during the festive period at 0230 hours will encourage revellers to remain within the area and cause further public nuisance in this hotspot.

He argued that if the application was granted, it could lead to similar applications from other businesses in the area, and that this would hinder the natural dispersal of persons from licensed premises and significantly increase the risk of incidents of crime and disorder and affect public safety.

Councillor Archie Dryburgh moved, and Councillor Kim Lowe seconded a motion to refuse the application. Councillor Linda Dorward, seconded by Councillor Davie Stitt, proposed an amendment to grant the application, but the amendment failed. The original motion to refuse the application was passed.

Square Apple, 76-78 Friars Vennel, Dumfries

The panel was due to consider an application from Ms Sadia Akther for a new Late Hours Catering Licence for the Square Apple. The application requested permission for the business to open until 1am from Monday to Sunday.

The application had previously been deferred from the meeting on 1 October 2024 after a request for a translator for the applicant had been made too late to be arranged. The applicant requires an interpreter because their first language is not English.

If the Licensing Authority is, at any time before they reach a final decision on the application, satisfied that the notice was not displayed in accordance with statutory requirements then they may require the applicant to display the notice again for a period of 21 days beginning with such date as they may specify.

Five objections to the application had been received, two of which were received by the council after the deadline.

The panel agreed to consider the first late objection after hearing from the objector about why it was submitted late.

Members should hear from the objectors as to the reason for lateness and thereafter hear the applicant’s position in respect of the matter.

However, after this decision had been made the translator left the meeting unexpectedly, and attempts to contact her to ask her to return were unsuccessful. Without the translator present, the applicant was unable to understand the meeting.

PROCEDURE – the language interpreter left the meeting unexpectedly and without prior warning and attempts to contact her and bring her back throughout the meeting were unsuccessful.

The panel agreed to defer a decision on both of the late objections, and the application itself, until a future meeting.

Taxi driver’s licence applications

The panel considered two applications for taxi driver's licences. The applicant in the first application did not attend the meeting, despite requests from the panel to do so. The panel refused the application, deciding that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence because they had not engaged with the licensing process, and had not attended the meeting.

The panel considered the second application in private. This is because the information discussed in the meeting was deemed by the council to be potentially harmful to the people involved if it was made public.

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 allows councils to hold parts of meetings in private if the information being discussed is confidential.

AGREED adoption of resolution to exclude the public from the meeting in terms of Section 50A(4) and paragraph 14 Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

Councils must follow strict rules about what information can be considered confidential, and they must record the reasons why they believe that each piece of information should be considered confidential.

The panel agreed to grant a taxi driver's licence for a period of 2 years.