A Chesham takeaway has been ordered to remove a vent and decking that were fitted without planning permission.

Buckinghamshire Council has taken enforcement action against Yummy Bites at 85 Broad Street, which only opened in November 2023.

The takeaway, which sells pizza, burgers and chicken, has been handed an ultimatum by council officers.

Those in charge of the restaurant must dismantle the vent and rip up the decking at the front within three months of the enforcement notice taking effect on June 1.

READ MORE: Bucks Council claims it has halved call waiting times to five minutes

Failure to comply with the enforcement notice once it has taken effect could result in prosecution and or remedial action by the council.

This month, Mr Naeem Naqshbandi has put forward a plan to rectify the breaches after he was served with the enforcement notice in March this year.

His new planning application seeks permission to change the use of 85 Broad Street to a hot food takeaway, install a replacement ventilation system and retain the signage.

It reads: “In March 2020 the applicant applied for and was given approval under the prior notification procedure for the change of use of the property from a shop to a restaurant and café.

“The applicant mistakenly believed that this consent would allow him to operate as a takeaway. Due to Covid he was not professionally advised.”

In June 2020, Mr Naqshbandi fitted a kitchen extraction system, the existing external vent and decking at the front.

After this, the applicant began using it as pizza shop ‘Exprizza’, ‘albeit unlawfully’, according to his application.

In October 2020, council enforcement officers told Mr Naqshbandi that the vent and decking had been installed without planning permission and therefore breached planning control.

His subsequent retrospective planning application for the vent and decking to remedy the breaches was validated by the council in March 2021.

Following this, Mr Naqshbandi claims to have built ‘a very sound base for his business’, before eventually opening as Yummy Bites in November.

However, the applicant had two wait more than two years for his plans to be determined and was finally refused permission for his proposals in December 2023.

In their decision, planning officers cited ‘the detrimental impact of the proposals on the amenities of the occupants of the existing adjoining and neighbouring properties caused by odour, noise and overlooking’.

Mr Naqshbandi was also told that the signage at Yummy Bites was installed without advertisement consent.

His new application seeks to address all the issues raised by the council, including the signage and the breaches.