Late-Night Restaurant Plan Sparks Local Concerns

Fears have been raised about litter, traffic and late-night disturbance after a Reading Indian restaurant asked to keep serving food into the early hours.

The Biryani Lounge opened on Wokingham Road in August 2022. It serves biryani with halal meats, vegetable curries and more, and is usually open until 11pm Monday to Saturday and 10pm on Sundays.

Over the summer the business applied to Reading Borough Council to sell food and non-alcoholic drinks later. During a 28-day consultation it agreed to reduce the proposed hours to 2am for both takeaways and dine-in following talks with the council's licensing department.

A nearby couple objected, saying the move would bring more waste and noise. Mr and Mrs Burns from Bulmershe Road said:

"We object to this on the following grounds. One: Recent anti-social behaviour in the area. Two: There are already too many takeaway food businesses in this area. Three: rubbish they generate is never cleared promptly, bins are not emptied, and more rubbish will find its way into the neighbourhood. Four: late night traffic will cause nuisance for neighbours. Five: we already have too many Uber Eats traffic deliveries in and around the neighbourhood, and continuous coming and going will create much noise when the many choose to sleеп!"

The objection means the application must be decided at a meeting of the council's licensing applications sub-committee on Thursday, September 10.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter