Anti Amber Foods

closed

2010-04-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

the store is now closed for business --- but more news to come

Christmas Day arrest for city trader

2010-01-09T16:26:00.001-08:00

A Hove trader spent Christmas Day in a police cell after failing to appear at court to answer food hygiene charges.

Imaad Khan, owner of Amber Foods in Western Road repeatedly ignored warnings from council food safety officers who visited the store several times last year.

Failure to appear in court on December 23 to answer 26 food hygiene and two food labelling charges resulted in a warrant being issued and Khan being arrested in Christmas Day.

Khan eventually appeared at Brighton Magistrates Court today (January 4) and pleaded guilty to all the offences. He was fined £2,450 and ordered to pay £2,000 costs.

Len Batten, prosecuting on behalf of Brighton & Hove City Council, told the court that food safety officers had made numerous visits to Amber Foods and each time found that food safety laws were clearly being flouted.

Offences included lack of hot water for washing hands and cleaning, displaying food past its ‘use by’ date, inadequate pest control procedures, poor lighting and structure, rotting food and staff smoking and not washing their hands.

The chiller cabinet was dirty, leaking water and not cold enough and there were no proper arrangements for disposing of trade waste.

Khan was given four weeks to carry out improvements, but failed to make any changes.

The court also heard that Khan had previously been fined for illegal disposal of waste and obstructing the pavement.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, Cabinet Member for Environment said: ‘’I was saddened to hear that this case ended in court action but this trader has consistently flouted the law putting his customers at risk.

“Over a period of six months officers found a catalogue of problems including poor standards of hygiene, a lack of hot water for cleaning and hand washing, out of date food, lack of necessary management controls, broken food chillers and no proper arrangements for collection of trade refuse.

“The City Council’s Food Safety team dedicate a lot of time and resources to helping small businesses to comply with food law to ensure they are as safe as possible. Unfortunately in this case their advice was ignored and they had no option other than to take it to court.’’

Anyone for a shop - going cheap?

2010-01-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

The store currently occupied by Amber Foods of Western road Hove is currently lease for sale.

another fine

2010-01-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Another red card for Amber Foods

A trader who obstructed the highway with fruit and vegetables has been fined a total of £962 and ordered to pay £750 costs.

Brighton magistrates today heard that Imaad Khan, director of Amber Foods at 17 Western Road, Hove, repeatedly put crates and boxes of produce out on the public area of pavement, making it difficult for pedestrians with buggies and disabled people to negotiate round them.

Len Batten, prosecuting on behalf of Brighton & Hove City Council, said matters reached a head in October of this year when, despite many previous warnings, the shop’s display went far beyond what might be considered reasonable.

Khan did not appear in court but was convicted in his absence on three charges of obstructing the highway.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, cabinet member for environment, said: “There is a private space in front of the shop specifically designed for displaying goods so there was no need for it to come out onto the rest of the pavement and hamper pedestrians.

“The council tried to persuade the owner to scale back his display and issued warnings, but in the end we had no choice but to take legal action.”

Earlier this year the same business was fined £1,000 for dumping trade waste in a communal bin.

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1218134

arrest warrant issued

2009-12-25T03:37:00.000-08:00

Imaad Khan - 21 is charged with 26 counts of contravening hygiene regulations, 2 counts of selling food out of date and 3 counts blocking the public highway.

He was due to attend a hearing at Brighton Magistrates court on the 23rd december

9th december

2009-12-25T03:36:00.001-08:00

Re: Amber Food Stores - 17 Western Road

I am writing to advise you that I have visited the store at 17 Western Road , Hove this afternoon and met with the operator.

Further to my investigations from the planning perspective, I am satisfied that there has not been a change in the use of the premises and I will therefore be closing my file in this matter.

It is clear to me that the owner has changed his business practices in the last few months and, from the representations made to me, this includes the cessation of the majority of the wholesale/distribution element of the business. It would be lawful for the store concerned to operate an ancillary operation of storage and distribution and, I believe a small amount of “pick-ups” from the store are likely to continue. I have, however, strongly made the point that this must remain ancillary and from the information that has been provided to me, this does appear to be the case.

Finally I advised the owner to ensure that he is always compliant with the law, if he remains such, then he will not experience any further problems. I advised him that the principal cause for complaints appears to be mostly related to the parking of his van in a potentially dangerous position and the obstruction of the footways. I insisted that he complies with all the relevant regulations and that he operates in a lawful manner consistently.

As stated, based upon the information I have obtained and witnessed, I am satisfied that a breach of planning control no longer exists at the property and I will therefore be closing my file accordingly.

Should you become concerned at any future time that a change of use may have again occurred, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and I hope that the above is clear and informative.

Kind regards

Matt Gest

30-10-09

2009-11-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

From: Richard.delacour@sussex.pnn.police.uk
Subject: RE: Amber Foods - Western Road

Date: Friday, 30 October, 2009, 7:03 PM

I can assure you that we are working together with NSL parking & the affected departments within the Council (Highways & trading standards) to address the many issues surrounding Amber foods.

Obviously what we are after at the end of the day is for all parties to peacefully co-exist whilst maintaining the free flow of traffic along western Road with no obstructions for vehicles or pedestrians alike.

A joint professionals meeting was held last week and Mr Khan was visited 2 days ago by PCSO Julie Wornham and Mat Thomas, an Antisocial Behaviour case worker from the Partnership community safety team.

It would be innappropriate of me to discuss the contents of either meeting but could I please just ask that should you, or anyone else you are in contact with become aware of any information or witness any incident which is anti social in any form, that you record as much detail as possible and pass it on to PCSO Julie Wornham who is collating all incidents. However frustrating it may be I would please ask that no-one reacts or intervenes, that all incidents are reported through the correct channels and this will ensure that we have a clear and untarnished view of the incidents.

I would be very grateful if you could please pass this message on to your East Brunswick Contacts.

I have copied PCSO Wornham into this email so that you are aware of her email address.

Regards

Richard Delacour
Inspector

3-11-09

2009-11-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

Further to our meeting on site earlier today I am writing to confirm that I have hand delivered a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) to the owner and operator of Amber Foods. The PCN asks 15 questions in regards to the intensity and operation of the business and a response is due within the next 21 days. The purpose of the PCN is to establish the degree to which the business operates as a distribution centre as well as a retail outlet.

I did approach the situation “holistically” with the owner and tried to encourage him to be less obstructive with his goods for sale and to be more considerate with regards to the use of his van. Although I will wait for the formal response to the PCN before deciding how to take this forward from the planning perspective it did appear to be a fairly small operation with Mr Khan doing the majority (if not all) of the work in the business. It appears that Mr Khan does supply some goods to over 50 restaurants, however, the operation delivers very small quantities – but to a large number of customers.

Mr Khan was quite upset during my visit and appeared to be very frustrated with the Council’s actions. It would appear that he is operating in a relatively un-sustainable way for such a small operation and as a Council we need to ensure that we are being fair to him whilst actively resolving the problems experienced by local residents. I will endeavour to, as promised, take this issue further with some of the other teams involved.

Thank you for meeting with me on site and I will respond to you in regards to the additional issues/properties you have raised separately.

Kind regards

Matt Gest

Planning Investigations and Enforcement Manager

17 Aug 2009

2009-10-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mr S

Thank you for your e-mail concerning Amber Foods. You are correct in your comments about the vehicle A7KAN persistently parking on the pavement and the double yellow lines. My staff have visited him on numerous occasions and I have myself been to see him and explained how dangerous and inconsiderate his parking has become. His vehicle has been issued with 19 PCN by NSL the enforcement contractor and they have also logged the vehicle to be removed.
The highways department have been informed as he continually leaves his food stock on the highway which is also an offence. The police have also been asked to intervene and issue him with fixed penalty charge notices.

I have asked the Highways department if they can install some bollards to prevent him from parking on the pavement and am waiting for their response. Please be assured that the council are doing everything in their powers to stop this illegal parking. If there is anything further I can hep you with please contact me.
Carol Rogers

30 October, 2009,

2009-10-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Date: Friday, 30 October, 2009, 7:03 PM

Bill

I can assure you that we are working together with NSL parking & the affected departments within the Council (Highways & trading standards) to address the many issues surrounding Amber foods.

Obviously what we are after at the end of the day is for all parties to peacefully co-exist whilst maintaining the free flow of traffic along western Road with no obstructions for vehicles or pedestrians alike.

A joint professionals meeting was held last week and Mr Khan was visited 2 days ago by PCSO Julie Wornham and Mat Thomas, an Antisocial Behaviour case worker from the Partnership community safety team.

It would be innappropriate of me to discuss the contents of either meeting but could I please just ask that should you, or anyone else you are in contact with become aware of any information or witness any incident which is anti social in any form, that you record as much detail as possible
and pass it on to PCSO Julie Wornham who is collating all incidents. However frustrating it may be I would please ask that no-one reacts or intervenes, that all incidents are reported through the correct channels and this will ensure that we have a clear and untarnished view of the incidents.

I would be very grateful if you could please pass this message on to your East Brunswick Contacts.
I have copied PCSO Wornham into this email so that you are aware of her email address.

Regards
Richard Delacour
Inspector

Amber Foods fined for dumping trade waste

2009-10-31T18:57:00.001-07:00

A business in Western Road has been successfully prosecuted by Brighton & Hove City Council for dumping trade waste in a communal bin.

Imaad Khan, director of Amber Foods, pleaded guilty to putting waste, which included a quantity of rotting pineapples and oranges, as well as boxes of all shapes and sizes, into a communal bin on Waterloo Street in June.

Brighton Magistrates ordered Mr Khan to pay a fine of £1,000, plus costs of £600 and £15 victims’ surcharge by the end of court business today.

For the first time the council invoked ‘bad character evidence’ as the accused had received at least four warnings in the past about his trade waste. He had also been interviewed under caution for a separate incident of fly-tipping last year on the Downs and given a £75 fixed penalty.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, cabinet member for environment, said: “We are pleased at the level of fine in this case as this was not a one-off incident. Communal bins are for residents and we will not hesitate to prosecute businesses who do not take responsibility for their waste.”

27-10-09

2009-10-31T18:54:00.001-07:00

Hello,

Another picture of pavement obstructions for your collection.

I can find no entry for Amber food stores in Brighton or Hove at the VOSA/DOT website who issue licences for "operating premises" licences.

Dear Ms. M,

Many thanks. An updated case file is being prepared to reflect things seen by my officers at the weekend. However, as with previous attempts to deal with this site, I cannot predict the reaction from our litigation team (or indeed a Magistrates’ Court).

We here, of course, have no jurisdiction over the vehicle-related issues raised regarding this site.

Regards,

Ian Denyer

Senior Highway Enforcement Officer

22-10-09

2009-10-31T18:53:00.002-07:00

Christina,
I was copied into an email from Police Inspector Richard Delacour, Hove Police Station who has interviewd the owner of Amber Food Stores in connection with a related matter concerning use of his van. Inspector Delacour in his email states,he has been informed by the owner that he needs to park his van continually outside his store as he is using the premises as a commercial greengrosers warehouse to supply some 90 shops and restaurants.
The Inspector is suprised, as I am that he has permission to use the premises for this purpose.Can you please let me know what business use permission the premises have and whether they cover the above use.
Thank you.

Dear Mr

I’m afraid I don’t know what business use is permitted with regard to this premises. I think an officer in planning would be best placed to respond to that query so I will forward your e-mail onto a colleague in the Planning section.

With regards

Christina

19th oct

2009-10-31T18:53:00.001-07:00

Dear All
I have heard no further from you or the others listed in this e mail.
What action has or is being taken re this case?
Traffic Warden 406 tells me that he has been told to waste no further time on the case as it produces no income for NCP (his bosses). He has been instructed to ticket in the centre of town where it is easy to get a conviction and fine.
Comments please.

Dear Mr

Further to my last message regarding the traders’ objects on the highway, Amber Foods received a final warning as a precursor to any legal action. Following a further breach last week, evidence has been gathered and officers will be preparing a case file for consideration by our legal team.

With regards

Christina

9th october

2009-10-31T18:52:00.002-07:00

9th october
Dear Sarah & Julie
As you know we have a problem with the owner of the Amber Food Stores. Western Road Hove.
Pavement obstruction caused by the parking of his van and the display of goods that spread ever closer to the pavement.
I have just had a young traffic warden called Mr L No. xxx talk to me about his distress caused by the owner of the store. Mr L tells me that for at least 18 months he has felt threatened by this man and has been insulted by him on many occasions. He has been fobbed off by his backup from the Traffic Department who tell him its a civil matter and they will not get involved in any action against this man.
I think it has become a criminal matter that needs attention from the Police.
Be warned you will be accused of being a racist when/if you talk to him. So have your answers ready.
Certainly a prosecution for the continued parking of his van (which he says is unloading - all day every day)
Christina Liassides of Highways is considering action against him for his pavement displays but as yet we have to see a result of her proceedings.

--------------------

9th october
Dear all

The incident (603 of 04/10) has been recorded as a crime (Crime number CW2/098519/09) and the officer has plans to interview Mr Khan in due course as it was not practical to arrest him there & then.

My understanding of the situation is that Mr Khan is trying to run a commercial greengrocers warehoue business from a high street store. If it was just a shop then it would not be a problem but he apparently supplies about 90 local shops & restaurants & is therefore continually loading & unloading his van. I can see that, practically speaking, he would need to have a vehicle close by to his 'warehouse' but one could argue that the high street is not the right place to have a 'warehouse'.

I have seen for myself that the situation is unacceptable & large vehicles & buses often find it difficult to manouvre around his van.

The local PCSO's have tried to mediate & deal with this by getting Mr Khan to apply for a residents permit but he was apparently turned down by the Council.

I have asked for Pc Gary Thompson to look at the situation with a view to resolving it from a multi-agency approach. I have given the instruction that we will try to acheive a mutually agreeable solution but that we need to come to a conclusion on these obstructions and no-one is above the law.

Many Thanks

Regards

Richard Delacour
Inspector

5 oct

2009-10-31T18:52:00.001-07:00

5 oct
Dear all

Thank you for copying me into your correspondence.

In fairness to the officer concerned, the Highway Enforcement team has been extremely short staffed since May due to sickness absence. The team have done a sterling effort to keep the various services going, which includes all the functions mentioned, but there has been an inevitable and genuine knock-on effect on our work plans.

With regard to this specific site, I myself submitted photographs and information to our legal team earlier this year and was informed at the time that the actual infringement onto the public highway was not to an extent that legal action was felt appropriate or with any likelihood of success. However, we now have recent photographic evidence showing the current infringement and this is being submitted to our Legal team for renewed consideration.

With regards

Christina

2909

2009-10-31T18:51:00.002-07:00

Dear Paul
As Christina Liassides is not present we will hold off on an Official Complaint until her return. However her failure to respond on her return will mean that we will press ahead with this complaint.
Other recipients of this e mail please let me have your response to the e mail from the Council Officer (unamed) pleading no staff to cope.
Thanks

29/09pe

2009-10-31T18:51:00.001-07:00

From: Paul Elgood

We have been monitoring Amber as best we can given present resource difficulties (at times over the last two months I have been down to one HEO, one temp. and one member of the administrative Support team on duty to deal with all aspects of our work - including the processing of an average of over 120 skip and scaffold licences we are issuing each week, all site inspections, vegetation & responses to complaints etc. etc.). I have only one record of a recent infringement at the Amber site that I would argue as potentially actionable (given previous rulings by Legal team). However, this occurred during the prosecution (upheld) against this business over waste issues. We are monitoring, as best we can, to see if the recent Court action has concentrated the owner’s mind at all. If genuine, potentially actionable breaches are discovered we will pass matters to our Legal Team again. Unfortunately, all incidents I have seen during my own recent visits have been very minor infringements, the pursuit of which could, given the recent prosecution, lead to accusations of the Council targeting this site while apparently ignoring or tolerating worse breaches by other businesses. We will continue to monitor as best we can under the present circumstances

29 sept

2009-10-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

I feel obliged to add to Mr C's comments. If every shop in Western Road were to take the same attitude as Amber Stores we would not be able to walk along the street.The council, by not taking any action, is sending out a signal to every shop in Western Road that it is OK to completely ignore the regulations. It is a total disgrace that no action is being taken.This has now been going on for at least the last two years. How can the council take action against any shop that commits the same offences whilst ignoring this situation? EBRA have made so many complaints to your department about this store that I consider it is time for our association to make a formal complaint about the lack of action by the Highways Department. What is so difficult about doing something about this? We are not interested in hearing the often quoted phrase by Mr Denyer of "de minimus".
The store is committing an offence. The courts can not ignore that. They may say that the offence is minor, but you should be able to demonstrate that you have been trying to work with the store to persuade them to comply with the regulations and that they have completely ignored your attempts. That should be sufficient for the court to find them guilty and fine them accordingly.We would like to see the correspondence you have had with your Legal Department and the advice they have provided.We do not accept that legal action can not be taken.Would you please respond to all the above concerns.

2009-10-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:36:10 +0000
From:
Subject: Amber Food Stores - Western Road Hove
To:

Dear Ms Liassides
If you have been reading your e mails from EBRA you will have noticed that this establishment is cause for concern with the residents of Brunswick Town.
Attached is a picture taken this evening. Just how does a person with a pram or wheelchair get through this narrow gap? I have seen persons having to step out into the road to get past. If there is a customer selecting items from the display the walking traffic has to stop till the way through is clear. It should also be noted that this spot is a crossing point.
Action must be taken to get this obstruction removed and removed for good.
A reply this time please.
Thank you

21 April 2009

2009-10-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

21 April 2009 08:50
Update re. Amber Foods: We are still awaiting a response from Legal Team regarding a further, recent query from ourselves regarding highway-related activities at this site. Cityclean are handling all waste-related issues at this site.
Regards,

Ian