Illegal Manchester shisha bar's landlord handed £200k fine

T&M Property Investment Ltd has been hit with a bill topping £200,000 for owning a property which breached planning laws

A firm which owned a property that was used as an illegal shisha bar has had almost £175,000 in income confiscated.

T&M Property Investment Ltd was also fined £18,750 and ordered to pay £5,700 in court costs after admitting breaching planning laws on Friday.

The offences happened at Dubai Cafe in Rusholme, Manchester, which had operated as a shisha bar against planning rules since 2018.

The property firm has until August to pay the fine and confiscation order.

Gavin White, from Manchester City Council, said the sentencing sent "a clear message to other businesses flagrantly breaking the law that we are looking for you and we will prosecute".

It also showed 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," he added.

The cafe operated illegally as a shisha bar for more than four years

The company was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Friday after admitting breaching a planning enforcement notice under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Council enforcement officers first became aware the premises was being used as a shisha bar in September 2018.

They also noticed the building had been changed internally, again without the appropriate planning permission.

An enforcement notice was later issued which ordered the landlord to cease the operation as a shisha cafe and remove all works that did not have planning permission.

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, the council said.

The company admitted breaching planning laws at Manchester Crown Court on Friday

It later prosecuted the building's owners in an investigation that saw it work alongside financial investigators from Salford City Council.

They used the Proceeds of Crime Act, which allows the court to issue confiscation orders for money generated by illegal activities, to reclaim some of the income earned during that time.

The £174,074.79 confiscation order, fine and court costs are all payable by 4 August.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]