London restaurants fined £5,000 for 'grime crime'

Three east London restaurants have been fined over £5,000 in a council crackdown on “grime crime”.

The venues were separately taken to court by Redbridge Council after failing to store their commercial waste properly.

The council said this was a threat to environmental and public health as well as “an eyesore”.

Wah Bey on Cranbrook Road, Kitchenette Lounge Ltd on York Road, and Ali Curry House on High Road had been on a council watchlist.

During random checks last year, enforcement officers found large commercial waste bins belonging to the restaurants open and overflowing with rubbish.

The venues were issued Section 47 legal notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which sets out how commercial waste should be stored.

Overflowing bins were found four times at Wah Bey, four times at Kitchenette Lounge and once at Ali Curry House and the restaurants were issued fixed penalty notices each time.

The fines went unpaid leading to all three being successfully prosecuted at the end of last year.

Councillor Jo Blackman, Redbridge cabinet member for environment and civic pride, said: “We all have a duty to keep our borough clean and tidy, and this includes businesses. The failure to correctly store commercial waste presents a threat to the environment and public health, as well as being an eyesore.

“The majority of our local businesses act responsibly and store their commercial waste properly. For any who aren’t doing this, these prosecutions should serve as a strong warning that Redbridge Council will continue taking tough action against those businesses who refuse to act responsibly and legally when disposing of their waste.”

None of the restaurants' owners or company directors attended the court hearings.

Wah Bey’s directors were fined £2,242, Kitchenette Lounge Ltd was charged £2,135, and the owner of Ali Curry House was fined £997.

Redbridge council warned the “crackdown on businesses behaving badly” would continue in 2023.

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