Shisha lounge refused late opening for second time

Rehana Lounge applied to open until 02:00 GMT on Fridays and Saturdays

A Bradford shisha bar has been refused permission to open until the early hours of the morning for a second time.

Rehana Lounge, which saw a previous move to extend opening hours refused in March, resubmitted plans after a noise assessment was carried out.

Rashid Moghul, representing Rehana Lounge, said other nearby venues opened until 02:00 GMT and asked for "the same freedom and flexibility".

At a meeting on Wednesday, a man who lived near the White Abbey Road venue said late opening would be "detrimental to the mental health and wellbeing of residents".

There were 31 objections to the plans, with some objectors claiming the business was opening, serving food and playing music beyond its approved closing time - a claim denied by the venue.

Plans to convert the former bookstore into several smaller businesses were approved in 2018, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In 2020, plans to turn one of these businesses into a cafe were approved on the condition that the business shut at 23:00, with the venue later becoming Rehana Lounge.

The new application looked to extend opening hours on Friday and Saturday and stay open until 02:00.

A 6ft (1.8m) screen blocking views and sound from neighbouring Hardaker Street was installed on the balcony of the bar in order to restrict disturbances.

Despite this, members voted to refuse the plans.

Councillor Brendan Stubbs, who sat on the panel that refused the previous application, said: "I haven't seen anything today that would make me change my decision from March."

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