A community in Cricklewood have won a small victory following the raiding of an illegal shisha café by the council.

Smoking paraphernalia, seating and a canopy structure have been removed from the unlicensed Beirut Gardens in Cricklewood Broadway, by planning enforcement officers.

Brent Council staff had previously served a planning enforcement notice to the cafe in March, after residents complained of persistent late-night disturbance caused by loud music and shisha smoke.

Cllr Helen Carr, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Mapesbury, praised residents in her constituency for heading a campaign with council officers. She added: “It sets a good precedent to people who want to open those sorts of venues and to want to flagrantly flout the law.

“Bars and cafes contribute to the borough but when that interferes with people’s lives it’s a problem.

Cllr Margaret McLennan, Brent Council’s lead member for housing and development said: “The owner had illegally built an extension and changed the use of the property from a restaurant to a shisha café without the correct license.

“Having failed to follow earlier warnings and to comply with the notice, and following further complaints from residents, council officers removed seating, the illegal extension, shisha pipes and related smoking paraphernalia from the property.

“We are committed to ensuring a safer, cleaner and greener borough for our residents. The wellbeing of Brent residents is always our priority and where businesses flout the law in this way and seriously affect local residents, we will always look to take action.”