A pizza takeaway in Reading which had been been operating illegally since November, is now seeking a licence to sell hot food and drink past 11pm.

Farmhouse Pizza, on 435 Oxford Road, went into liquidation on October 30, 2018, and the business was taken over by San Int Trading Ltd.

When a business goes into liquidation, the licence must be transferred to the new owner within 28 days but this did not happen.

Director Solhail Anwar is now seeking a licence to sell hot food and drink past 11pm.

Mr Anwar ‘seemed unaware’ that he was undertaking licensable activity illegally, according to Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) licensing team.

The team has objected to the application and raised concerns that the application does not match the takeaway’s planning permission.

Mr Anwar has applied for a licence to sell hot food and drink from 11pm to 2am, Monday-Thursday, and 11pm-3am, which is beyond the shop’s planning permission.

Farmhouse Pizza’s planning permission states that the takeaway can only sell food from 8am-11pm ‘to protect local residents from unreasonable disturbance’.

The council’s licensing policy states that all applicants should have appropriate planning permission in place prior to obtaining a licence.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) have also objected to the plans.

Licensing officer Declan Smyth said: “There is a general concern surrounding the provision of late-night refreshment after 23:00 per se but specifically within this area.”

He added that these concerns are ‘further compounded’ by insufficient details within the application.

The council’s licensing applications committee will decide whether to approve the licence on Thursday.