Concorde Fish Bar’s late licence renewal rejected after neighbours complain

A CITY fish bar has had its chips when it comes to serving late-night food, after a series of complaints about rowdy behaviour at the takeaway.

The Concorde Fish Bar will not be allowed to open into the small hours, after Edinburgh’s licensing sub-committee heard how residents living near the Home Street chippy had their lives turned upside down by noise coming from it into the small hours.

One fed-up neighbour is said to have resorted to sleeping in the bath because the music was so loud, while another had to be prescribed tranquillisers as a result of the stress of living near the chip shop.

The takeaway – which was allowed to open until 2am on weekdays and 3am at the weekend – had submitted an application to renew its late licence.

But the application from Cesidio and Teresa Crolla attracted objections from residents and Lothian and Borders Police alike.

At one point, a police officer attended the shop in an effort to resolve some of the antisocial behaviour.

However, the officer described Mr Crolla as being “unconcerned” about the level of disruption the noise from his premises caused to neighbours and appeared unhelpful in resolving the problem.

Environmental officers also visited the premises and found customers being served outwith the opening hours.

One neighbour, who had been living directly above the Concorde for two years, described the situation as a “nightmare”.

In an objection letter, she wrote: “I couldn’t believe that anyone who ever lived at this address could live with this sort of noise level.

“For two years I’ve been suffering and fighting to be heard and it’s ongoing. I have no quality of life.”

The neighbour also recalled one incident where a drunk woman who stood shouting outside the Concorde asking why it was closed was eventually served a sausage supper by a member of staff.

She said the woman had asked over and over again how much the food cost, with the exchange between her and the member of staff being conducted in the street.

The neighbour added: “I have to listen to or wake up to sentences like ‘where ye gaun ya stupid c***, am gettin a chippy’ [and] ‘who ye f****** talkin tae ya f****** radge’.

“It’s offensive and frightening language which is unsettling.”

With the late licence refused, the chip shop will operate standard opening hours, with suppers now only served until 11pm every evening.

Councillor Alex Lunn, who sat on the licensing sub-committee, said: “As somebody who comes from a small business family, rule one is to always make an effort to get on with the community and your neighbours. It seems this business has decided to totally ignore that rule.”

Mr Crolla said: “We are very disappointed with this decision. We will be submitting an appeal against it.”