A TAKEAWAY restaurant in a south Wales town will see the temporary suspension of its licence after the discovery of illegal workers at the site.
The one-month suspension comes after an application was made to Bridgend County Borough Council to review the licence of USA Chicken, Pizza, and Kebabs in Talbot Street, Maesteg.
It was made by Home Office Immigration Enforcement and stated the licenceholder had undermined the licensing objective for the prevention of crime and disorder as illegal working had been identified at the premises.
This came after immigration compliance enforcement officers visited the site in May 2025 where two illegal workers were said to have been found.
A civil penalty of £80,000 was later issued to Talbot Kebab Ltd on June 16, 2025, which was upheld after reconsideration.
A licensing meeting was held in April 2026 by Bridgend County Borough Council where members heard about the application which requested them to revoke the licence that authorises the provision of late-night refreshment and non-standard hours.
This came after a previous meeting which was adjourned in order for the licenceholder to find a Turkish translator.
Following a presentation of the Home Office case counsel for the licenceholder requested one committee member, Cllr Steven Easterbrook, recuse himself from the meeting on the basis of predetermination after he used the phrase “it’s very much black and white” during questions.
Cllr Easterbook however remained in the meeting, clarifying that he was referring to whether the application was a serious matter to be considered and not the decision itself.
During the meeting a representative speaking on behalf of the licenceholder argued revoking the licence would be “unduly harsh” as the breach was technical and not a blatant disregarding of the rules.
It was also noted that there had been no reports of illegal working, anti-social behaviour, or other breaches of the licence in the last 15 years.
Following deliberation the committee decided against revoking the licence in order to keep regulatory control over the premises and make improvements with a number of permanent conditions.
These included submitting a list of people employed at the venue to the Home Office every three months with the names, national insurance numbers, and position of the employees.
Additionally all staff will have to carry out training every year on employment and immigration rules, food standards, safety, and licensing, with a logbook of the training to be kept and available on request.
A section of the meeting’s minutes said: “Conditions alone, however, did not reflect the seriousness of the illegal working. The committee felt that a temporary suspension of the licence was called for.”
