A LONDON COLNEY man is taking his fight to John Prescott after St Albans District Council refused to let him run a take-away restaurant from a building that has been empty for a year.

Raj Sookdawar, 42, of New House Park, has lodged an appeal with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Mr Sookdawar has 15 years' experience of running take-aways and felt aggrieved when the district council said he could not set up a Chicken Express take-away in vacant premises at 194 High Street, London Colney.

Councillors ruled the conversion of the shop to a take-away would mean the loss of a retail outlet, as well as noise, fumes and smells for residents.

But Mr Sookdawar said no-one has shown an interest in the empty building for the last 12 months.

If the appeal is lost, the building looks set to remain unused and his dreams of expanding his growing business into St Albans will remain unfulfilled.

Mr Sookdawar, who wanted to run the shop with his sister, Mohini, said: "We were very disappointed and upset when we were refused permission. I cannot think why they did that.

"It's just a lock-up shop and nothing is happening. There is no demand for shops there.

"I was just passing by when I saw it and thought it would be ideal for people who don't want to cook after work.

"The council has made the wrong decision."

A St Albans District Council spokesman said: "The committee's decision was based on planning grounds, not on commercial grounds.

"It is not for the council's officers to say whether a business will be viable.

"The shop is a designated retail unit and officers want to keep it that way. That was the decision of the planning committee."

Mr Sookdawar, who says he is 60 per cent confident of success in his appeal, vows to move on and open a takeaway elsewhere if he loses the case.

He claims that would mean less choice for local residents about where to eat, locals would lose out on the chance of employment and London Colney would have an empty, unattractive shop.

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