THE owner of a shisha bar in Abbeyview that has never had permission to operate has apparently been able to trade for three months due to a planning quirk.
Fife Council twice rejected applications and the Scottish Government also said no to the proposals to use a former garage behind shops and flats at Duncan Crescent as a place for smoking hookah pipes - but locals say it's still open.
One resident told the Press: "They're still using it as a shisha bar, quite blatantly.
"There are probably about 10 cars a night there, they just abandon them anywhere, it's getting to the stage we can't get parked outside our homes.
"They have shisha pipes that light up in different colours so you can see people going in and smoking. I've seen them go in and use it.
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"They put the shutters down as soon as people leave so it looks like it's shut but it's still set up.
"It's still open and it's still running and it's happening most days. They just don't care."
But it now seems it's all above board and they CAN use the premises, for a limited time at least.
Dunfermline South councillor Lynn Ballantyne-Wardlaw told the Press: "As a councillor I have to be careful in what I say if there are matters that are ongoing.
"The tenant of the shisha bar had put in an appeal when the original planning application was turned down.
"That appeal was then turned down at the end of February.
"I'm not an expert in these matters but my understanding, from speaking with Fife Council's enforcement officer, is that from the time of that decision they can continue to trade for three months.
"That means if they choose they can trade to the end of May."
She acknowledged that the shisha bar has never had permission to trade and added: "I'm relaying to you what the current situation is.
"At the end of May the enforcement officer can go back and make sure they are no longer trading."
Work had been completed and the Buzz Shisha Lounge was operating by the summer of 2022 with applicant Muhammad Arslan "unaware" that he needed planning permission from the council.
The west and central planning committee refused his retrospective application in January 2023 and the Fife planning review body upheld that decision last August.
The council began enforcement action, to effectively force the business to shut down, in December.
In January Mr Arslan appealed to the Scottish Government and asked for a pause until a new application was determined.
Instead of a shisha bar, which he said had already closed, he proposed the premises be used for customers of his adjacent business, House of Desserts, to sit and eat their sweet treats.
The Scottish Government rejected the appeal in February but the application for a seating area has still to be decided.
This month, locals again complained to the Press that the shisha bar was still operating.
The council's service manager, Alastair Hamilton, confirmed that the owner has submitted a retrospective planning application.
He said: "Legally, enforcement cannot progress until that application has been determined. We are considering this now."
Asked to comment on the assertion that the owner has been allowed to trade for three months, the council said they had nothing to add and Mr Arslan's application would be "considered in the next few weeks".
Cllr Ballantyne-Wardlaw said: "I am in contact with residents and I know they've said there are other issues too.
"Those issues have been taken up with the relevant people."
She added: "We have to let the process take place. I understand there are frustrations there."
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