Plans approved for off-licence and takeaway at former Michelin-listed restaurant
Restaurant 27’s application to vary its license was approved despite residents fears
Plans to change a former Michelin-listed restaurant into a convenience store and pizza takeaway have been approved – despite pleas from nearby residents to kick the plan out.
Portsmouth City Council’s licensing committee granted an application to vary the premises licence for the Restaurant 27, which is at 27a South Parade in Southsea.
The original Restaurant 27, a Michelin-listed French eatery, closed in August 2023. In May 2024, the property was sold to private owners, who reopened a pizza and pasta restaurant under the same name.
The new owners submitted an application to vary the premises licence to allow a convenience store alongside the hot food offering.
The approved convenience store will operate from 7am to 11pm seven days a week, with alcohol sales for consumption on and off the premises during those hours.
During the committee meeting, the applicant said he has 20 years’ experience in retail and had agreed a set of conditions with the police.
The conditions require a written or computerised log of crime and disorder incidents, spirits to be kept behind the counter, deliveries to be restricted to genuine residential or business addresses, and no new delivery or collection orders to be accepted after 10pm.
No responsible authorities objected to the application.
The application received 12 objections from local residents, who raised fears over potential noise disturbance, anti-social behaviour and the impact on parking.
Another common objection was that the area is already well served by convenience shops – however, this was not a valid consideration for the committee.
Four local residents spoke at the committee meeting, raising fears over the “external nuisance” seen at other off-licences and shops nearby.
Another resident said people in the area already experience anti-social behaviour, saying residents regularly hear shouting and “aggressive behaviours”, and that the shop would worsen littering and broken glass left on the pavement.
Reading out the decision, councillor Stuart Brown said the committee had decided to grant the application after considering all the arguments for and against.
He added the committee had “carefully balanced” the interests of the business and the potential risk it poses to the licensing objectives, which aim to protect public safety and prevent public nuisance.
He said the absence of comments from responsible authorities such as the police and environmental health “has to be interpreted as support” and that the committee was “satisfied that it was appropriate to grant the application”.