Update on licence hearing for Blue Diamond restaurant

A restaurant and takeaway in Blackpool’s South Shore has had its premises licence revoked after councillors heard an employee had been working there illegally.

The Blue Diamond, a well-established Indian restaurant on Highfield Road, once hit the headlines after TV star Jonathan Ross raved about it during a visit to the resort in 2012.

But more recently, a Home Office immigration team requested that the eatery have its premises licence reviewed by Blackpool Council’s licensing panel over claims that employment rules related to immigration controls had been breached.

Immigration Officer Shaun Wright attended the panel hearing and outlined the potential exploitation implications and the unfair competitive advantage gained by businesses employing staff without the correct right to work.

The illegal worker was found to be employed at the Blue Diamond during an enforcement visit to the premises on April 5 2025 and a civil penalty of £45,000 was issued to the Premises Licence holder which, at the time of the visit, was Mina Tuly Limited.

An objection was received to that penalty however a decision was taken in August 2025 to maintain the penalty which remained unpaid.

Mr Wright said right to work checks had not been carried out by the licence holder to establish the conditions under which the individual had permission to work.

What occurred at meeting

A report of the minutes of the hearing stated: “It was noted that subsequent to the enforcement visit the Premises Licence had been transferred to Gulu Gulu BPL Ltd, although the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) had remained unchanged since August 2018.

“In the Home Office’s opinion the transfer had taken place to avoid payment of the outstanding civil penalty, although there was no evidence to confirm that.
“Concerns remained which Mr Wright did not believe could be addressed by the imposition of conditions onto the licence.

“He therefore requested that the panel considered the revocation of the licence.”
Mr Mohammed Malik, director of Gulu Gulu BPL Ltd, told the panel he had taken over the lease of the premises in September and that the issues relating to the illegal worker had occurred under the previous licence holder.

In his opinion, it would be unfair for him to be penalised for the former owner’s actions and he advised that a number of staff members had changed in the period since, although the DPS remained the same.

Following questioning by the panel it was confirmed that Mr Malik had worked for the previous owner for approximately six months before taking on the premises in his own name, although no payment had exchanged hands for that transaction.

The panel agreed there was lack of confidence in the ability of the current licence holder to uphold the Licensing Objectives.

The Panel also had further concerns that the overall control of the business had not truly changed hands since the immigration enforcement visit the previous year.

It was therefore agreed to revoke the licence on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder, specifically the prevention of illegal working in licensed premises.

What loss of licence means

A restaurant can sell food without a premises licence, but only if it does not serve hot food or drinks between 11pm and 5am and does not sell alcohol.

The loss of the licence would not mean automatic closure but would present operational difficulties to establishments which make a profit from alcohol sales or stay open later.