Late-Night Chicken Takeaway Seeks 5am Licence

Favourite Chicken in St Mary's Butts, Reading, has applied to sell food until 5am every day.

The halal takeaway has been a town centre fixture since 1999, selling fried and barbecued chicken, kebabs, doner and burgers. It opens from 11am and currently closes at 3am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 11pm the rest of the week; a licensing officer later said the licence allows food sales until 3am Thu-Sat and 2am other days.

The business has a rocky past. Thames Valley Police dealt with multiple crime reports, and the Home Office fined the owner a total of £20,000 in 2011 and 2015 for hiring people without the right to work.

PC Simon Wheeler asked for sales to be curbed to 1am. In July 2020 councillors reduced late-night food sales to 2am and opening hours to 2.30am, but the owner successfully appealed and secured a consent order with the council in 2022/23.

The new application would extend food sales to 5am daily. A statutory consultation is live and residents can respond by emailing licensing@reading.gov.uk. The closing date for representations is Monday, November 9.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter