Orlando's Norwich faces no action over sushi restaurant post

The house in Earlham Road, as it looked in early 2019, with an illuminated sign for Orlando's

A B&B owner who was investigated over an alleged restaurant on site will not face action, despite a new post on Facebook announcing a sushi restaurant.

Orlando Williams' business was looked into when an illuminated Orlando's sign appeared on his Norwich home in 2019.

This month, he announced on Facebook he had opened a restaurant at the address.

The council, which dropped its inquiry over a lack of evidence, said serving non-guests was a breach of planning but had to be proven to be "causing harm".

'My chef is proud'

Mr Williams posted images on Facebook on 11 September of plated-up sushi and a bottle of beer and said: "I have just opened a sushi and Japanese restaurant."

He included his address, opening hours and phone number and added: "Please book... my chef is proud of his work".

Mr Williams said he would "not be giving any information" when contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

During the Norwich City Council investigation, which ended in 2020, Mr Williams was told to remove the lit-up sign.

Sakura, the name of a former sushi restaurant he had run in the city, has also disappeared from above the door, but a website for Sakura appears on a new sign.

A sign now appears at the front of the property

Asked about the social media post, the city council said serving food to non-residents would be a breach of planning conditions of the business.

"In order to successfully enforce against such a breach and serve a 'breach of condition notice', the council needs to establish that the level of use by people who are not staying at the B&B causes harm to the surrounding area," it added.

"This harm could be measured in a number of ways, such as noise caused by people coming and going either on foot or by car or while dining in at the premises.

"While we are aware that Mr Williams is advertising on social media, we have not been able to establish that the level of use of the restaurant by non-residents is actually causing harm that would result in us being able to take successful enforcement action."

In terms of food hygiene, the council added that Orlando's was already a registered food business, operating as a B&B serving evening meals.

It was last inspected in December 2020 and was due for another inspection soon.