A DECISION on whether to allow a £200,000 tea shop in the heart of a Blackburn shopping district to cover its outside decking area has been deferred by councillors after a nearby resident complained it regularly traded after its permitted opening hours.

The Mi Chaii outlet in Whalley Range opened in September, able to accommodate 38 diners inside and a further 21 outside on a specially built terrace.

Owner Sonia Ahmed and her family-run Divine Patisseries Ltd have applied to cover over the decking to extend the main cafe.

Her proposal was debated by Blackburn with Darwen Council's planning committee on Thursday night.

The cafe's opening hours are set by a condition on the original planning approval to 9am to 11pm.

The decking is supposed to close at 8pm but the application to enclose it seeks to extend its opening hours to match those of the restaurant.

Whalley Range neighbour Asif Iqbal attended the meeting to object to the move.

He told councillors: "There has been a horrific catalogue of violations of its planning conditions.

"It has breached its opening hours virtually every day since it opened.

"This cafe regularly operates until well past midnight.

"This business should not be rewarded for regularly violating planning conditions.

"We neighbours want it held to account.

"Other businesses nearby are now copycatting this behaviour."

Planning manager Gavin Prescott said council enforcement officers were investigating alleged breaches of planning conditions and what action would be appropriate.

Ms Ahmed disputed Mr Iqbal's claims and said: "We always close at 11pm.

"It's not worth staying open and risking a fine.

"It is always this one individual who has an issue with us. He is simply wrong."

At the suggestion of council growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood, the meeting offered to defer any decision on the application for a month while the authority's public protection officers investigated the impact of covering the decking and extending the 11pm closure time to that space would have on neighbours.

The move was backed by committee chairman Cllr Dave Smith.

A report to the meeting by planning officer Tom Wiggans recommending approval said: "The application site was formerly part of the Brookhouse Business Centre.

"The intention is to provide customers with a better overall experience at all times of the day and seasons of the year.

"It is accepted that the maximum number of people who could visit the café/restaurant during inclement weather and/or during the evening would slightly increase."