The director of a Park Royal shisha lounge and restaurant and the company which owns it have been fined thousands of pounds for the second time this year, after repeatedly breaking the law.
Despite several warnings from Ealing Council officers, Huqqa Lounge in Coronation Road continued to serve shisha to customers to smoke in enclosed spaces, which is illegal.
On 26 November, Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court found the company that owns the business, CR335 Limited, and its sole director Salman Al-Mutteri, of Falcondale Court in Park Royal, guilty of failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free area. This is contrary to Section 8 of the Health Act 2006. Between them, they were ordered to pay fines and court costs totalling £6,980.20.
This follows an earlier conviction in February, when CR335 Limited and Al-Mutteri were found guilty of the same offence and ordered to pay a total of £5,400. Between the 2 prosecutions, they have been ordered to pay a total of £12,380.20.
Ignored warnings
The popularity of shisha smoking has risen in recent years. Although some people consider it a safer alternative to cigarettes, research has shown that one shisha session can be the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes. In response, Ealing Council has been cracking down on shisha lounges which flout the rules, and it has prosecuted 12 different businesses in the last 3 years – in some cases more than once.
In the wake of the February conviction, council and police officers carried out a joint visit to the business in April. Customers were seen openly smoking shisha in enclosed spaces.
Officers found that the lounge’s seating areas were enclosed by glass windows and a closed retractable roof, breaching the Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006. The roof was later opened.
The council will continue to support local businesses to ensure they comply with smoke-free legislation.
‘Keeping our residents safe and healthy’
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, the council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “Cracking down on rogue shisha operators is just one of the ways we are working to keep our residents safe and healthy.
“This is our 16th successful prosecution of an illegally operating shisha lounge in the last 3 years. Businesses have a responsibility towards their customers, and those failing to meet their health and safety obligations should know that we will always take the strongest possible measures to being them into line with the law.”
Find out more
If you are a shisha business operator, go to the council’s website for advice and information.
