Fife Council asked to pause shisha bar enforcement action

Muhammad Arslan has asked Fife Council to halt their enforcement action and consider a different use for the old garage behind the row of shops and flats at 22 Duncan Crescent.

Instead of the Buzz Shisha Lounge, which was twice refused planning permission, he said customers of his adjacent business - House of Desserts - can now take away and enjoy their sweet treats there.

Instead of a shisha bar, it's now proposed that the old garage becomes a seating area for customers of the House of Desserts. (Image: Google Maps)

A statement on his behalf, submitted by planning agent John Raeburn, said: "The two reasons for the refusal were transportation and noise.

"The building is now being used as a seating area for the shop that sells ice creams, desserts, cold filled sandwiches and rolls and non-alcoholic drinks.

"This has taken away the transportation issue as it is for existing customers who enter the shop from the front and then they will walk from the rear door of the shop to the seating area, and they will exit in the same way."

He added that the council had completed an investigation into noise complaints and "were satisfied that no statutory nuisance exists".

The local authority's planning service confirmed last month that they had started enforcement action due to the unauthorised change of use of a storage building to a shisha bar and the creation of an enclosed patio.

The Buzz Shisha Lounge in Abbeyview has never had planning permission. Despite this, local residents said it was still operating in October last year. (Image: John Booth)

The Buzz Shisha Lounge has never had consent but began trading in the summer of 2022 and even after retrospective plans were refused last January and again in August, a local councillor was told it was still in business.

In October Cllr Lynn Ballantyne-Wardlaw had written to council officers and said it "has been brought to my attention by local residents that the shisha bar at 22 Duncan Crescent, Dunfermline continues to operate".

The enforcement notice, which would have taken effect from last Friday, said the use of the premises as a shisha bar must cease and the advertising signs from the front of the property, as well as the boundary fencing and the patio, must be removed.

However there is now a pause as Mr Arslan, who stays in Glenrothes, has appealed to the Scottish Government.

Papers on his behalf say he was "unaware that planning permission was required" for the shisha bar and the subsequent application was refused by the west and central planning committee and then the Fife Planning Review Body.

READ MORE: Cost of building the delayed Abbeyview Hub continues to yo-yo by £2m

Mr Arslan has now submitted an application for alterations and a change of use from the storage building to a seating area for up to 15 people for the existing shop.

It explains that the House of Dessert's opening hours are 11am to 11pm, seven days a week, and that doors to the outdoor seating area would be closed at 8pm with only indoor seating allowed after this time.

He wants the council to halt their enforcement action while the new plans are considered.

In a statement, Mr Raeburn added: "Currently many customers that come into the shop buy their products and then go and sit outside on the steps outside to consume them, which is not ideal at times if the weather isn’t good and for other customers visiting the shops.

"This is the reason the applicant is proposing to use the building at the rear to provide a seating area for the customers which has the covered area if the weather isn’t good and keeps the area outside the shops clear and will reduce noise."

The council confirmed it is an enforcement case and said they had nothing to add at this stage.