A Leicester shisha venue has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds in fines after breaching health laws. Premises where shisha is smoked are legally required to be more than 50 per cent open to the air.
However, repeated visits by Leicester City Council’s public safety team to Amoura Lounge, in Royal East Street, in April and June last year established that that was not the case at the restaurant, yet council officers witnessed groups of people smoking on the premises.
The authority said its officers issued a report to staff at Amoura Lounge stating that smoking must “cease with immediate effect” until the premises was more than 50 per cent open. After it was caught in breach for the second time, Amoura Lounge told the council it had stopped all shisha smoking on the premises, a council spokeswoman said. The authority will be carrying out a compliance check to ensure this is the case, the spokeswoman added.
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Inspectors also served an improvement notice, ordering the bar to supply details of its health and safety risk assessment by Wednesday, May 22, 2024. This was not provided, the authority said.
Amoura Lounge has now been told to pay £8,500 in fines and costs following a court hearing. Leicester magistrates fined the business £2,500, plus a victim surcharge of £1,000, and ordered that it contribute £5,000 towards the council’s legal costs.
Leicester City Council’s head of regulatory services, Rachel Hall, said: “Smoke-free legislation is designed to protect the public and employees from the inhalation of second-hand smoke, which is known to cause serious health issues, including forms of cancer. It’s also very important that businesses comply with health and safety laws that are there to keep everyone safe.
“The message is clear: all shisha café owners in Leicester must operate within the law and their premises will be visited regularly. If they don’t comply then they can expect robust and appropriate enforcement action to protect employees and customers alike.”
