Bacup businessman hits out at ban on security shutters
11:00am Monday 3rd September 2012 in North West
By Chris Adams
Shazad Iqbal outside Chixy's Chicken
A BACUP man claims his business is being driven into the ground due to council rules on shop shutters.
Shazad Iqbal has been in charge of Chixy’s Chicken Shop in Union Street for 18 months but says he could be forced to close after Rossendale Council fined him £2,500 for installing metal shutters without their permission.
He lost his case in Burnley Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and must pay the costs within three weeks.
Mr Iqbal, who employs five staff, said officials must accept the fact that Bacup has a vandalism problem and that small businesses depend on shutters for security. Because of the town’s status as an urban conservation area, certain types of shutter are banned.
Mr Iqbal said: “I took my fee to the council to apply for planning permission and was told bluntly that I would not be successful.
“I’ve had windows and doors smashed and someone trying to rob the till and computer. I can’t take any chances. I even offered to only put them down from 11pm to 7am, or put in shutters with bigger holes.”
Shutters that have already been in place for four years are not affected by the ruling and Greensclough councillor Jimmy Eaton said: “I have contacted the licensing department asking to review the entire situation. We can’t have one rule for one business and one rule for another.”
A council spokesman said: “There are several other ways businesses can secure their properties including internal shutters and lattice type external shutters.”
Comments(38)
kempy
says...
11:18am Mon 3 Sep 12
jack daniels
says...
12:16pm Mon 3 Sep 12
There are rules in place for a reason...
her from here
says...
12:17pm Mon 3 Sep 12
What are the police doing about this it's gone on before the cut backs.where have they been when the vandalism has happened
disgusted tunbridge wells
says...
1:02pm Mon 3 Sep 12
disgusted tunbridge wells
says...
1:03pm Mon 3 Sep 12
GAC
says...
1:10pm Mon 3 Sep 12
her from here wrote:seriously no one at rbc can make a decision as if something comes back to bite them they are scared of getting fired.
It's about time the council sorted this out it's gone on long enough.Surely there should be some compromise so the shopkeepers can keep their propertys safe .
What are the police doing about this it's gone on before the cut backs.where have they been when the vandalism has happened
this shutter issue has been rumbling on for a few years now and all they say is "its the rules" sorry but the rules need to change, and if the people in charge cant change them due to playing politics maybe they should leave there job and let people in who can actually do something other than blame others.
RupertsReason
says...
1:11pm Mon 3 Sep 12
her from here wrote:I get the feeling the police might have been out doing their job of protecting the public from crime by patrolling, which can be as much a deterrent. Luckily enough they weren't so stupid as to sit outside Mr Iqbal's shop waiting for some numpty to not notice them in their highly visible cars and uniforms and vandalise the shop.
It's about time the council sorted this out it's gone on long enough.Surely there should be some compromise so the shopkeepers can keep their propertys safe .
What are the police doing about this it's gone on before the cut backs.where have they been when the vandalism has happened
What sort of reactionary nonsense is that last sentence you wrote?
Have you not considered that Mr Iqbal is just using this article to deflect his own shortcomings by blaming everyone bar him?
midas
says...
1:31pm Mon 3 Sep 12
.
So he then just went ahead and installed them, didn't take them down when he was asked to, went not guilty and lost his trial and now blames the council!!!!
her from here
says...
1:36pm Mon 3 Sep 12
GAC wrote:Spot on
her from here wrote:seriously no one at rbc can make a decision as if something comes back to bite them they are scared of getting fired.
It's about time the council sorted this out it's gone on long enough.Surely there should be some compromise so the shopkeepers can keep their propertys safe .
What are the police doing about this it's gone on before the cut backs.where have they been when the vandalism has happened
this shutter issue has been rumbling on for a few years now and all they say is "its the rules" sorry but the rules need to change, and if the people in charge cant change them due to playing politics maybe they should leave there job and let people in who can actually do something other than blame others.
kempy
says...
1:37pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy
says...
1:37pm Mon 3 Sep 12
berniep
says...
2:09pm Mon 3 Sep 12
He was told that those shutters would not get planning permission but went ahead anyway.
Then he has he got the cheek to blame anybody but himself? Other small businesses have followed the rules & so should he.
Asian shop keepers do make a habit of flouting planning reg.s & usually get away with it.
district01
says...
2:37pm Mon 3 Sep 12
midas
says...
2:56pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy wrote:They don't comply with planning regulations!!! Certain types do and others don't - its not science!!!
Whats wrong with the shutters They are not ugly'maybe if there were a good nighbour hood watch maybe he would not have put them up I hope Mr Iqbal get a petition going.I would back him
.
What petition do you expect him to get going? One that exempts his business from planning regulations?
.
why didn't he get shutters that comply with the rules - are they more expensive?
RUinsane
says...
2:57pm Mon 3 Sep 12
midas wrote:*----0----( 0 )----0----*
Mr Iqbal said: “I took my fee to the council to apply for planning permission and was told bluntly that I would not be successful.
.
So he then just went ahead and installed them, didn't take them down when he was asked to, went not guilty and lost his trial and now blames the council!!!!
.(Yer in the bottom 3)
I agree with Midas here, also can't remember the last time someone broke into a chicken shop??? A venky spy perhaps??? I think the roller shutter door company fleeced your arse and then the council spanked it for good measure.
Roo_Win
says...
3:28pm Mon 3 Sep 12
If they only allow certain shutters for aesthetic reasons, then they should take a look around the rest of the town centre (and closer surrounding areas). It's not a nice looking place. Actually, it looks closer to awful.
Though not all the kids in Bacup are miscreants, there are many of them here indeed. There have been many incidents of break-ins and vandalism. Think back to what happened to the windows at Pizza King last year.
Preventing something is always better than curing something.
However, I do agree that he should have complied and maybe sought other, more diplomatic ways to install these particular shutters.
jack denials
says...
3:35pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy
says...
3:44pm Mon 3 Sep 12
but then everyone suffers with rising insurance polcies.
Also I do agree that he should not have gone ahead with having them fitted but then he had the risk of been broken into again or have boarded up frames that would have looked worse.
An old saying Bacup born and bread big in body thick in thed
ROVERSCAN
says...
3:52pm Mon 3 Sep 12
jack daniels wrote:Yes your right there pal, to keep some bolshie bast**d in a job and theres plenty of them!!!!!!,
As a businessman le would be aware of policies and procedures around owning a running a shop. It really is his own fault for not getting advice first and then getting permission through the correct channels. It's not that shutters are banned; just the ones he had fitted without permission.
There are rules in place for a reason...
her from here
says...
4:16pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy wrote:What has being Bacup bred got to do with a planning issue. I'm Rossendale born and bred and have never heard that before. it;s offensive and spelt wrong.bread is somthing you eat. Who is thick in the thed
good idea jack denials
but then everyone suffers with rising insurance polcies.
Also I do agree that he should not have gone ahead with having them fitted but then he had the risk of been broken into again or have boarded up frames that would have looked worse.
An old saying Bacup born and bread big in body thick in thed
rvp what a player
says...
5:02pm Mon 3 Sep 12
HairyBowls
says...
5:16pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy
says...
5:34pm Mon 3 Sep 12
4:16pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy wrote:
good idea jack denials
but then everyone suffers with rising insurance polcies.
Also I do agree that he should not have gone ahead with having them fitted but then he had the risk of been broken into again or have boarded up frames that would have looked worse.
An old saying Bacup born and bread big in body thick in thed
What has being Bacup bred got to do with a planning issue. I'm Rossendale born and bred and have never heard that before. it;s offensive and spelt wrong.bread is somthing you eat. Who is thick in the thed
Great we have a spell checker on hear!!
Strange you have never heard that ode before I know three people from Haslingdon say that all the time.
if the yobs who put his windows in and robbed him just goes to show the mentality? He is a rate payer and pays twice as much as a house holder.he just trying to look after his property which others want to wreck.
Pan-cake
says...
6:00pm Mon 3 Sep 12
And in Great Harwood the bulk of the shutters on shops are down during the day and up at nighttime, which is when you would expect any vandalism/criminalit
y to take place.
It occurs that if proper shops and even the bookies don't have shutters, then why does a take away need them.? Is there something more valuable on the premises than the expected kebabs and a few chicken beasts? And what's so valuable within, that the the local barber needs shutters?
These things are so beyond our planning system then soon all our town centres will take on the East Manchester look, where rows of shops are 'protected ' not only by shutters but razor wire.
her from here
says...
6:39pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy wrote:You know 3 people from Haslingden that say it all the time just about says it all. The people that do damage may not be local but could come from somewhere else maybe from Haslingden who knows.
her from here says...
4:16pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy wrote:
good idea jack denials
but then everyone suffers with rising insurance polcies.
Also I do agree that he should not have gone ahead with having them fitted but then he had the risk of been broken into again or have boarded up frames that would have looked worse.
An old saying Bacup born and bread big in body thick in thed
What has being Bacup bred got to do with a planning issue. I'm Rossendale born and bred and have never heard that before. it;s offensive and spelt wrong.bread is somthing you eat. Who is thick in the thed
Great we have a spell checker on hear!!
Strange you have never heard that ode before I know three people from Haslingdon say that all the time.
if the yobs who put his windows in and robbed him just goes to show the mentality? He is a rate payer and pays twice as much as a house holder.he just trying to look after his property which others want to wreck.
Linzi.cooban
says...
6:40pm Mon 3 Sep 12
gazzandste
says...
1:23am Tue 4 Sep 12
MrClaret
says...
8:22am Tue 4 Sep 12
No sympathy, his own fault and the situation he's in is of his own making and could easily of been avoided
SWP supporter
says...
9:46am Tue 4 Sep 12
Well, Berniep, why are you trying to turn this into a racist dispute?
buck fuzzby
says...
9:56am Tue 4 Sep 12
kempy wrote:great, we have a spell checker on hear...
her from here says...
4:16pm Mon 3 Sep 12
kempy wrote:
good idea jack denials
but then everyone suffers with rising insurance polcies.
Also I do agree that he should not have gone ahead with having them fitted but then he had the risk of been broken into again or have boarded up frames that would have looked worse.
An old saying Bacup born and bread big in body thick in thed
What has being Bacup bred got to do with a planning issue. I'm Rossendale born and bred and have never heard that before. it;s offensive and spelt wrong.bread is somthing you eat. Who is thick in the thed
Great we have a spell checker on hear!!
Strange you have never heard that ode before I know three people from Haslingdon say that all the time.
if the yobs who put his windows in and robbed him just goes to show the mentality? He is a rate payer and pays twice as much as a house holder.he just trying to look after his property which others want to wreck.
I think you mean HERE.
buck fuzzby
says...
10:07am Tue 4 Sep 12
an ode is a lyric poem which was originally meant to be sung....what you write about is not an ode, but a saying or adage.
jack daniels
says...
12:07pm Tue 4 Sep 12
ROVERSCAN wrote:or maybe the council are trying to stop the area looking like the multicoloured eye sore that is Darwen St in Blackburn.
jack daniels wrote: As a businessman le would be aware of policies and procedures around owning a running a shop. It really is his own fault for not getting advice first and then getting permission through the correct channels. It's not that shutters are banned; just the ones he had fitted without permission. There are rules in place for a reason...Yes your right there pal, to keep some bolshie bast**d in a job and theres plenty of them!!!!!!,
Bacupbloke
says...
7:05pm Tue 4 Sep 12
The fact is though that the Bacup yobs take a dislike to certain shops. They hang around takeaways and have no respect. The main problem is not this businessman but the brain dead councillors (Labour of course), especially regeneration boss Andy McNae. Trying to revive Bacup is like raising Lazarus. If this was a smart town with a civilised population. I would back the ban but it is the armpit of east Lancs.
oracle999
says...
12:12am Wed 5 Sep 12
🚃
Bacupbloke
says...
4:54pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Bacupbloke
says...
4:56pm Wed 5 Sep 12
mysay.com
says...
12:47pm Fri 28 Sep 12
he paid his fee to the council and was told he would not be successful.....this was after the fact, he had looked at the premises, looked at the shutters which were already installed on the other local businesses, and fitted shutters which matched, and was THEN told that those were not acceptable, (even though they were the same as the others) so he paid for "additional" permission and was told that the council had already seen a way to fleece him out of a fine and were not going to assess it, only take the money and run. and yet the other premisses which STILL have the same shutters are not being fined.
Council staff are afraid of losing their jobs....this NEVER happens, they just get moved to a different department, even after gross negligence or after it being proved that they were employed in error.
Claim on insurance.....yes, and watch your premiums soar untill they reach a point where you cannot get or cannot afford to insure the place.....is this not what has caused the demolition of the valley centre....it aint only bacup.
This matter is being looked at by the traders association and the council being brought to task...it is about time that the council realised...they work for US not the other way around, this is supposed to be a community, not a dictatorship.
kempy says...
11:16am Mon 3 Sep 12