Leeds restaurant Shimlas in Harehills submits formal plans to open until 2am on weekends

Shimlas, on Roundhay Road in Leeds, was provisionally told that it can serve until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, and up to midnight the rest of the week. However, the diner can’t operate past 11pm yet, as it still needs to obtain planning permission from the council to vary the hours.

The licensing arm of the local authority gave the idea the green light following a hearing in October, despite backlash from local residents. And now, the restaurant has submitted its formal planning application to the council, detailing why it wants to open late.

A statement prepared by 363 Architecture on behalf of Shimlas, submitted to the council on January 3, reads: “Unlike a normal takeaway which does not have internal seating, Shimla’s is a restaurant where patrons can sit and eat therefore giving the owner an element of control over the noise coming from his premises.

“The number of later visitors to premises will be few and we expect most of the very late/early morning customers to be shift workers leaving or going to work, delivery drivers and taxi drivers. These customers will eat inside and not be expected to hang around the restaurant before or after eating or to play loud music from their cars, thus there will be no increase in disturbance to nearby residents.

“There will already be a considerable amount of noise on Harehills Rd due to the constant flow of busy traffic and the nature of the area with shops, cafes etc. This background noise from the main intersection is from cars which will be crossing throughout the night.”

The diner opened earlier this year close to the busy junction which connects Roundhay Road and Harehills Lane. Restaurant bosses had originally wanted to stay open until 3am, but later agreed to compromise and asked for a smaller extension following a local backlash.

The statement added: “The additional opening hours will allow the restaurant to remain viable following a long closure due to the recent pandemic. Following this lockdown the majority of eateries face rising food produce and energy costs. To generate income for the business the additional hours will ensure that the restaurant generates enough to keep its staff employed and business stays afloat.”

The council’s environmental protection team and four local Labour councillors had objected to the extension, predominantly on noise disturbance grounds. A petition carrying 32 signatures against the idea was also submitted.

But Shimlas’ representative, Rashid Moghul, told the hearing in October that officers’ claims were not based on evidence. He insisted that a noise assessment carried out on the restaurant’s behalf had shown noise disturbance to the surrounding area would be minimal.

In its planning application, the restaurant also pointed out that it does not sell alcohol, which it believes reduces the risk of anti-social behaviour, and that steps had been taken to crack down on litter around the premises.