Weekender: Leeds restaurant secures weekend opening extension

Turtle Bay’s restaurant in Leeds has secured an extension for its weekend opening hours.

The Caribbean themed bar and restaurant is part of The Light leisure and retail centre in Leeds’ Northern Quarter and located in the red zone of the city’s cumulative impact policy area.

Law firm Kuits presented a case to the Leeds City Council licensing sub-committee that the extension of the opening hours of the popular venue would not have any adverse impact upon the licensing objectives – a concern initially expressed by the licensing authority and the West Yorkshire Police.

Turtle Bay will now extend its Friday and Saturday opening hours in the city until 1.30am after the application was granted following a hearing at Leeds Civic Hall.

Anthony Lyons, head of licensing at Kuits, said: “We produced evidence to show that Turtle Bay is an exceptional operation, including showcasing a Freedom of Information Act request which outlined that the premises has not experienced a single recorded incident of violence or disorder since opening over two years ago.

“We’re delighted to be working with the Turtle Bay team on all of their premises and supporting them with their growth plans as they continue to expand across the country.”

In January, the firm also successfully obtained a license for BrewDog’s new Hopworks concept from Islington Council in London, despite being located in a cumulative impact zone.