Gatley takeaway 2am licence: police object, decision 20 Aug

A Gatley takeaway that wants to serve hot food until 2am at weekends will have its application decided by councillors on Thursday evening, after Greater Manchester Police, the council’s Environmental Health team and a local resident all objected. Stockport Council’s Licensing, Environment & Safety Sub-Committee B meets at 6pm on Thursday 20 August in Committee Room 2 at the Town Hall, and the application for Freddys Chicken and Pizza, 60 Church Road, Gatley, is the only item on its agenda. (Agenda, Licensing, Environment & Safety Sub-Committee B, 20 August 2026)

What is being asked for

The application is for a new premises licence covering late night refreshment only, which is the legal term for selling hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am. The applicant wants a terminal hour of midnight from Sunday to Thursday and 2am on Friday and Saturday. It was lodged on 1 May 2026, but the officer’s report records that the applicant did not advertise it on the required blue notice at the premises or in a local newspaper, so the consultation was restarted; the notice went in the Stockport Independent on 8 July and the adjusted consultation closed on 27 July. (Committee report, Freddys Chicken and Pizza premises licence application)

The application form describes the business as a takeaway and delivery premises with seating for six, with a rateable value of £8,700. The operating schedule promises staff training, CCTV with footage stored securely, and a commitment to keep noise from cooking equipment, ventilation and customers to a minimum during evening and night hours. (Appendix A, the application)

Three representations were made, all under the prevention of crime and disorder and prevention of public nuisance licensing objectives. Two are published; the resident’s is a restricted appendix.

Environmental Health: flats above, complaints already, and no noise report

The Environmental Health representation says the premises sits in a mixed-use area with residential flats directly above the adjoining shops at 58 and 62 Church Road and to the rear at 60A, and it records that the team has previously received noise complaints about the takeaway’s extraction system. It says the operating schedule does not set out how noise from plant, noise breaking out of the building, customers arriving, leaving and congregating outside, or late-hour deliveries and collections would be controlled, and that no Noise Impact Assessment was submitted. (Appendix B, Environmental Health representation)

The same document points to the council’s Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 to 2031, which gives a guideline terminal hour of 1am on Fridays and Saturdays for takeaways and fast-food premises in residential areas. The hours applied for exceed that by an hour, and Environmental Health says no justification has been offered for going later. Its position is that it will only reconsider if a noise assessment by a qualified consultant is submitted, using the BS 4142 method to show that plant noise at the nearest home does not exceed the existing background level.

Police: unanswered emails and no crime-and-disorder measures

Greater Manchester Police’s representation is short and blunt. It says the applicant “has failed to respond to numerous e-mails regarding the application and proposed conditions”, has not addressed crime and disorder mitigations, and has not explained why the premises should operate outside the council’s licensing policy hours. The force had proposed three standard conditions: CCTV covering all public areas including immediately outside, with 28 days of recordings available to police on request; documented staff training on the licensing objectives; and an incident book kept for six months recording any disorder, drug incidents, ejections, first aid or calls for police. (Appendix C, Greater Manchester Police representation)

What the sub-committee can do

The report sets out the options: grant the licence as applied for; grant it with conditions; cut back the hours; exclude any of the activities; or reject it. Because relevant representations were made, the Licensing Act 2003 requires the sub-committee to take whatever steps it considers necessary to promote the licensing objectives, and to give full reasons that go into the written decision notice sent to all parties afterwards. Any planning condition setting an earlier closing time would still bind the business whatever the licence says, since the report notes that where the two differ the earlier hour applies. (Committee report, section 3)

What it means for you

• If you live near Church Road: the meeting is public and webcast from the council’s committee page. Only people who made a representation during the consultation can speak as parties, but public question time is on the agenda before the item. Part of the hearing may be held in private because one appendix is restricted.
• If you use the takeaway: nothing changes until the decision notice is issued. Late night refreshment after 11pm cannot legally be sold without a licence, so the outcome decides whether Friday and Saturday service can run past that hour at all, and to what time.
• If you run a food business in Stockport: the police and Environmental Health papers here are a clear statement of what the council now expects from a late-hours application: a noise assessment where homes are close, CCTV, training records, an incident book, and a reply to the responsible authorities’ emails. The 1am Friday and Saturday guideline in the 2026 to 2031 policy is the benchmark you will be measured against.

We will report the decision once the notice is published. Freddys Chicken and Pizza is entitled to reply to the representations at the hearing, and to appeal to the magistrates’ court against any decision it disagrees with. Other Gatley and Cheadle applications are tracked on our Stockport planning applications page.