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Takeaway boss wants retrial
MAGISTRATES could order the retrial of a takeaway that was last week slapped with a record-breaking fine for fly-tipping.
Now the owner of the Pepperpot Caribbean takeaway, in Essex Road, has hit back at Islington Council, accusing officers of pursuing him over fly-tipped rubbish that isn’t even his.
Last week, Highbury Corner magistrates found Pepperpot guilty in absentia and they were fined £5,700 and ordered to pay £1,800 in costs – the highest ever for an Islington business.
But magistrates will consider a retrial after Pepperpot director Robert Harris had “a mix-up” with court times, despite attempts by council officers to remind him about the case.
Last week, the court heard how Town Hall officers, rooting through bin bags to find evidence, discovered rotting cooked food and raw chicken pieces, apparently from the shop, causing “heavy staining to the pavement”.
Mr Harris said that on one occasion, a novice kitchen porter had used the wrong bin bags.
On another, he added, customers’ rubbish had been mistaken for Pepperpot’s.
Mr Harris said on Wednesday: “It certainly wasn’t fly-tipping, it was a case of the rubbish being in the right place but in the wrong, non-council bags.”
He dismissed accusations that his company had purposefully dumped packaging and old food.
Mr Harris, who has owned the business since December, said: “Its complete nonsense and we throw away very little because we have such a tiny amount of packaging. They found food and packaging and a couple of receipts and assumed it was our rubbish.
“Does that mean they prosecute McDonald’s if they find burger boxes in someone’s bin?”
Mr Harris will apply for a new date to be set on Tuesday and Town Hall legal officers have agreed to suspend the fine for the time being.
But the Tribune has learned that the council will oppose a fresh hearing.
While there was never any question about food hygiene standards at the Pepperpot, Mr Harris wanted to emphasise the “stringent” enforcement of kitchen cleaning and safe food preparation.
He said: “All our food is freshly prepared and much of it is bought from the market.
“I would defy anyone to find a cleaner kitchen.”
Councillor Lucy Watt, the council’s Executive Member for Environment, said: “We don’t prosecute businesses for fun, but it’s not pleasant when commercial waste, like raw meat, gets dumped on the streets.
“It’s disgusting and unhygienic.
“I’m pleased that the council takes action against businesses who don’t dispose of their waste properly.
“The court was satisfied with the evidence against Pepperpot.” |
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