Crowds gather at the corner of the Lebanese Grill

THE owner of a kebab shop has railed against the council for removing his late-night licence, branding the decision “unfair” and “more of a racism thing”.

The New Journal reported last week how councillors had been presented with a heavy file of complaints ahead of a licence review for the Lebanese Grill in Leather Lane, Holborn, on Thursday night.

The takeaway has become a popular destination due to being featured favourably on social media sites like TikTok.

But scores of neighbours and ward councillors say it had become a magnet for bad behaviour as groups gathered outside, an odour nuisance due to its extraction fan equipment and the source of litter on the Bourne estate and elsewhere.

In an online meeting, councillors revoked permission to serve food between 11pm to 1am.

As the Lebanese Grill has 21 days to challenge the decision, it is currently still operating the same hours.

Zac Khan, the shop’s owner, said: “People forget this is not the same market as it was 15 years ago. It’s now all youngsters drawing that crowd and things have changed.

“They think Lebanese Grill attracts this crowd but it’s not going to change anything by us being there or not. I think it’s more of a racism thing because of the type of customers we get.”

He added: “We do not encourage people to go to the estate and eat food there, we encourage people to move along as we’ve got residential properties around. We offered to put in security, but in this current climate a lot of fast food places are closing up – they can’t make it, the overheads are so high.”

Mr Khan said there would be a “lot of business lost” because of the forced reduction in his licence conditions.

“People want to eat after 11,” he added.

“Every night we go out and pick up bags of rubbish, we do that voluntarily just to keep the peace and make sure everyone is happy. Bourne estate has always been full of kids having parties. And now we’ve been made the victims.”

But residents say the shop was making their lives a misery and a batch of photographs of large gatherings outside the grill and food bags left in the street were sent to the licensing panel.

Melanie Tew, chair of the Bourne Estate Tenants and Residents Association, said the problems had been “worst it’s ever been” over the weekend – as they waited for the new hours to take effect.

She said: “The community has been destroyed over the past few days. The noise has been awful, there continues to be people hanging around and no effort to move them on. The whole estate has been covered with Lebanese Grill debris. As a community we are dealing with people who don’t have any respect for us. They only have respect for their customers.”

Ms Tew, who has lived on the Bourne estate for 30 years, added: “We don’t have any issues with the other food stalls so why is it that we are having to deal with this one takeaway, not adhering, not listening to their community?”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “Leather Lane is a vibrant street and we want to ensure it remains a welcoming, safe and well-managed area for everyone. Due to ongoing noise and disturbance issues, we revoked the late-night licence for the Lebanese Grill Express at a panel meeting last week which means they can no longer serve hot food and drinks after 11pm.

“We are continuing to monitor the venue and are taking action to address the latest concerns raised by residents.”