Kensington and Chelsea Council have revoked the late trading licence of a Chicken Cottage after it became the base for a gang and a focus for anti-social behaviour.
Council officials say the self-styled “Chicken Cottage Crew” used the takeaway in Ladbroke Grove as a focal point to inflict waves of theft, physical violence and intimidation on the local community.
A recent meeting of the borough’s Licensing Committee heard how the police were called to 71 incidents of crime and disorder and public nuisance connected with the takeaway that took place between November 2007 and November 2008.
The Committee were told this compared adversely with a Tandoori restaurant which previously operated from the premises and had no history of similar crime or disorder problems and with a local pizza takeaway which has just 25 incidents during the same period.
As a result, the takeaway’s late licence was revoked under the Licensing Act 2003 and the store will now have to close by 11pm.
Councillor Mrs Priscilla Frazer, Chair of Kensington and Chelsea Council’s Licensing Committee, said the decision “sends a clear message to other late night establishments that they can’t sit back and let their premises become a magnet for crime and disorder.”
