Hearing set for Indian restaurant hoping to reopen on Hartlepool marina months after closing due to rising costs

An application for a new premises licence for Spices was submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council earlier this year to allow the Indian eatery to operate at unit 3 Navigation Point.

In January the restaurant, which was previously at 16-18 Navigation Point, released a statement saying they were closing after 22 years “due to costs continually rising of pretty much everything”.

But they said they were hoping to relocate “in the near future”.

If the new licence application, submitted by Nazim Uddin, is approved it would pave the way for the Indian restaurant to open at the new location.

It would allow them to sell alcohol from noon until 11.45pm six days a week, with the exception being Sunday, when it would stop serving at 11.15pm.

It would also give permission to serve food for consumption inside and provide takeaways until midnight each day.

However, the application is set to go before the council’s licensing sub-committee on Tuesday (April 18) for a decision to be made after an objection was submitted.

This came from a resident who raised concerns regarding noise nuisance caused by the extension of the opening hours compared to those previously permitted for the site.

The unit in Navigation Point was most recently home to Caribbean restaurant Kilimanjaro, which had a licence to sell alcohol until 11pm Monday to Saturday and until 10.30pm on Sundays.

The application from Mr Uddin notes CCTV will be in place, along with security on Fridays and Saturdays, to ensure licensing objectives will be fulfilled by the Indian restaurant.

In a statement posted by Spices on social media on January 6, announcing the closure of their old home after 22 years, they said they would be “back with a bang in the near future”.

It said: “Due to the costs continually rising of pretty much everything we have exhausted every option available for us to stay open.

“Moving forward we are hoping to relocate and reopen in the near future.”

A hearing over the application had been scheduled for March 16, however it was swiftly adjourned due to the applicant being unable to attend.