Council defers decision on whether to remove Northampton restaurant’s licence

Northamptonshire Police had called on Northampton Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee to revoke the licence of Les Olives, a Spanish tapas restaurant on Sheep Street, after claiming the Home Office had found illegal workers in the kitchen.The restaurant had disputed this, saying that neither of the individuals who were discovered, and subsequently detained, were employees at the restaurant.

In a brief conference yesterday morning (April 2) though, all parties agreed to defer a decision until July 2, when they hope the coronavirus pandemic will have calmed down.

Councillor Sally Beardsworth was one of three councillors on the committee, alongside Councillor Graham Walker and Councillor Penelope Flavell.

Councillor Beardsworth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The applicant [Northamptonshire Police] wanted it deferred and the restaurant wanted it deferred as well because they can’t open, so it’s pointless doing so under these difficult circumstances. We can deal with it once this terrible time is over and when things get back to normal.”

A representation submitted to the committee by Northamptonshire Police had outlined how immigration officers executed a warrant at the restaurant on the evening of December 12 last year, while it was open and trading.

It states: “Two immigration offenders were discovered at the premises working in the kitchen area.

“An Albanian male who admitted to having no visa and entered the UK in the back of a lorry three years earlier was detained. A female who had entered the UK legally in September 2019 from Malaysia for six months as a visitor – one of the conditions of her permitted entry was that she could not undertake any form of work during her time in the UK – was detained.”

But the landlord of the property said they had been told by the restaurant’s owners that neither individual worked at Les Olives, and pleaded with the committee not to revoke the licence.

A written statement said: “The Albanian male I am told is one of many who congregate outside the rear of the restaurant along with other rough sleepers. The chef sometimes provides leftover food to these rough sleepers. On this occasion, the chef provided [sic] the individual with some food, who entered the premises to eat the food provided.”

Councillor Beardsworth hopes that the July 2 date will allow councillors to meet in person alongside both the police and agents for the restaurant, but also said they could possibly do it on a video conference if social distancing measures were still in place.

She added: “We are trying to get over all the problems with this pandemic by getting things done over the phone.

“But we are moving into a technological age. In years to come, we will probably always do more of them at home rather than travelling about and polluting the planet.”