An American chain chicken restaurant in Bracknell has been given the go-ahead to keep on serving customers late at night.
Popeyes, the Louisiana-inspired fast-food chain, opened at the High Street in The Lexicon in January this year.
Since then, it has been open from 8am to 11pm each day.
In a bid to serve customers, Popeyes applied for a licence from Bracknell Forest Council for later hours, initially applying for food sales until 4am.
However, these later hours faced objections from neighbours, raising concerns about disturbance and anti-social behaviour.
A neighbour living in Ferriby Court wrote: “We don’t get any break from noise already in the town and feel this late opening is not necessary and will just create more noise, groups of people just hanging around, it’s already bad enough to have gangs of people outside McDonald’s screaming, shouting, throwing rubbish and blocking our entrance to have Popeyes opening later.”
Another resident wrote: “Me and my son already struggle with the amount of noise and often wake up several times during the night due to disruption.
“The hours that are being suggested are really the only quiet time you get living here, all this is going to attract is more anti-social behaviour, more drunks and more loitering.”
A fellow neighbour conceded that living in the town centre can be disruptive, but reported serious fights in the area.
They argued: “What I will never accept but have witnessed in the past is violence. Some of the disturbances i.e fights, have been horrendous.”
These objections to the application triggered a meeting of the council’s licensing panel.
Ahead of the meeting, Popeyes adjusted the application to keep the store open until midnight, with deliveries processed via Deliveroo until 2am each night.
Mark Browning, licensing representative for Popeyes, said: “Our price point is higher than a lot of people, because it’s all fresh, it’s hand battered and it’s not coming out of the freezer like some restaurants I don’t care to name.
“And also we have far less delivery than some of our neighbours, w know restaurants can be a magnet for delivery riders hanging around waiting for an order, so we’re trying to cut out those anti-social problems by having a ‘you’re ready’ button.
“Given that we’re a little bit more upmarket in the price point, an average meal is around £12, we like to create more of a restaurant atmosphere, where people come in, are served, seated, and hopefully have an enjoyable experience.
“When it’s closed and deliveries only take place, it’s properly closed, the lights are off, the chairs are upturned, it’s quite clear it’s closed.”
Ultimately, the panel decided to grant the application with the revised hours on Tuesday, July 15.
The decision was made by councillors Nick Allen (Conservative, Owlsmoor & College Town), Moira Gaw (Conservative, Winkfield & Warfield East) and Stephen O’Regan (Labour, Binfield South & Jennett’s Park).
