Cake shop's bid for 2am licence slammed as 'shocking' by residents

Baby Cakes in West Green Road applied for the late opening licence so it can stay open until 2am daily and serve hot food, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

South Tottenham residents have raised concerns over antisocial behaviour and noise from delivery drivers after a dessert shop applied to open until 2am.

Baby Cakes in West Green Road applied for the late opening licence so it can stay open until 2am daily and serve hot food. While it will not be selling alcohol, the premises needs approval to serve hot food beyond 11pm.

The shop, which has been open less than a year, has no seating and serves food and soft drinks for takeaway and delivery. The owner, Atakan Kartal, also owns an off licence next door, which is open 24 hours, called Atakan Supermarket.

During a licensing sub-committee meeting yesterday (Thursday 24th) licensing consultant Oisin Daly, representing Atakan, said the dessert shop was seeking a 2am close because it would “benefit the business”.

Describing the footfall in the area and at Atakan Supermarket, Oisin said: “If you were to look at Wednesdays, it’s four times as busy at 2am than it is at 3pm. Again, on Saturday nights, it’s far busier at 2am than it is at 9pm. There’s a consistent theme where the area is always busy at those hours.”

Committee member Nick da Costa asked how, if the committee was minded to grant the application, the owner would deal with noise and discourage loitering.

Atakan said neighbouring residents had his number, which was available, and he dealt with complaints as and when he received them.

A representative from the Metropolitan Police suggested the dessert shop install CCTV, tell delivery drivers not to keep their engine running when picking up orders, display signage requesting customers respect the “needs of the local residents” and the area in front of the shop be “kept clean”.

Oisin and Atakan said they agreed to all of the police’s suggested conditions.

However, residents Max and Katja, who live opposite the premises, said it was “shocking” an application had been submitted to have “yet another 2am late night business in an area blighted with noise and antisocial behaviour”.

Insisting granting the licence would “aggravate a bad situation”, Max said: “We already have Atakan [Supermarket] right there, right next door to Baby Cakes, and by its nature it attracts people in the middle of the night and sometimes these people are shouting, off their faces.

“It doesn’t matter if this new cake shop is going to have signage or CCTV, CCTV does not stop bad behaviour.”

Haringey Council licensing officer Yaseeur Rahman said the council had put forward midnight as an alternative closing time, from Sunday to Thursday, and 2am only on Fridays and Saturdays.

The application will be considered by the committee and a decision made, to either grant or reject, in five working days.

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