Burger van bid refused amid hotel concerns

A Bath burger van will not be able to extend its opening hours - after a local hotel said it was causing disturbance.

Jimmy’s Kebab, based on Terrace Walk’s “Bog Island”, had applied to be able to stay open half an hour later, until 3.30am.

But the Abbey Hotel across the street said that this would disturb its guests.

Bath and North East Somerset councillors Rob Appleyard, Sally Davis and Steve Hedges heard both the burger van and the hotel make their cases at a meeting of the licensing sub-committee.

For Jimmy’s, Angus Mcwilliams pointed out that the hotel and burger van are a short distance from the Labyrinth nightclub and other late night venues.

He claimed that the hotel was objecting because Jimmy’s did not fit into their idea of Bath’s night time economy and said: “This night time economy contributes to all the things that make Bath [the] destination it is.”

He added that, with a closing time of 3am, Jimmy’s was not able to serve people staying in the club until 2.45am or 3am.

He said: “When those nightclubs close, there will be hundreds of people going out onto the streets of Bath. It’s not unreasonable to want to feed them.”

But George Domleo, for the Abbey Hotel, said: “Jimmy’s appears to act as a magnet to people who cause a disturbance.”

Twenty-five of the hotel’s rooms face Terrace Walk and the burger van. Mr Domleo claimed that the hotel had instances when they had to offer compensation and alternative rooms to people due to disturbances caused by the van.

Councillors refused the application, stating that they had sympathy for Mehmet Yilmaz, who runs Jimmy’s, but believed that extending the burger van’s opening hours would lead to more disturbance.