A PANCAKES, waffles and ice cream restaurant was given a warning by Wirral Council as it was given permission to stay open until midnight. According to its JustEat page, Helly’s Sweets based on Grange Road West currently delivers food between 5pm and 11pm.

The shop, which is run by Helly Ice Cream Ltd, had asked Wirral Council to allow it to stay open from 10am until 2am. However, it would have only done deliveries between half past midnight and 2am each day following an agreement with Merseyside Police.

According to its JustEat page, it serves candy floss, milkshakes, ice cream, cookie dough, pancakes, doughnuts, cakes, baklava and churros. Though unverified, 49 Google reviews rate it 4.8 out of 5,

They described it as “extremely welcoming and kind” with “the most amazing deserts” and a red velvet cake that “is to die for.” Others praised staff working there calling them an “absolute credit to the community of Birkenhead” and “the desserts offered by this shop are among the tastiest and most delicious I have ever tasted.”

The shop has been open for one year and four months after planning permission was granted in June 2024. This only allowed the restaurant to stay open until midnight and no licence was granted for it to serve hot food after 11pm.

However, the restaurant was found to be open until 2am, beyond the hours it was allowed to. After a visit from the council, it was told it would need to apply for a licence.

Since the council visit, Helly’s Sweets has been closing at 11pm. Joanna Alnajari, speaking on behalf of her brother Abdo Alnajari who runs it, said it was hurting the business, adding: “We lost a high number of customers. If they know the shop is closing at 11, they go somewhere else.”

The licence application came to the committee after it was found the planning permission granted for the restaurant only allows it to stay open until midnight. A representative for the council’s planning department issued a warning to the restaurant that the council will take enforcement action against them if they stay open past midnight.

This is even if the licence was granted to 2am at the meeting on September 11. He said: “You need to bear that in mind going forward”, adding that it was in his informal opinion unlikely the restaurant would be allowed to stay open until 2am if they reapplied for planning permission.

The restaurant said it would take any issues seriously and agreed with Merseyside Police not to allow customers inside after 12.30am, with takeaway orders only. However the council asked for more clarity about whether the restaurant knew its legal requirements after representatives said they were not aware of licensing objectives to tackle issues like crime and antisocial behaviour.

Cllr Andrew Hodson said they needed more information to make sure granting the licence wouldn’t cause any problems but Ms Alnajari said they’d previously had no issues when the restaurant was open later.

Ultimately councillors decided to grant the licence allowing it to be open from 10am to midnight, not until 2am as requested. Councillors also said staff must be trained, with records kept available as well as log books of any antisocial behaviour incidents, CCTV, and notices urging customers to keep quiet when leaving.

A licence was also granted for a general convenience store on Rake Lane that will be called Rake Lane Food and Wine to sell alcohol between 7am and midnight and open from 6am. Two people had raised concerns about the application but neither turned up at the meeting.

Ian Rushton, from JL Licensing speaking on behalf of Rajeswaran Thanusikan, said it would sell food, snacks, and drinks and that Mr Thanusikan had eight years experience working in several shops down in London where he previously lived. He said there was no evidence of concerns raised by police about antisocial behaviour issues in the area and the council said there had been no reports in the area in the last six months.

Mr Rushton said antisocial behaviour was a general issue present in a lot of areas, adding if the people objecting “were here today, we would have liked to reassure them this shop will be well run.”