A cafe under investigation since 2018 for numerous breaches of planning law has been ordered to pay back nearly £400,000 following a failed appeal.
In September of 2018, Manchester City Council’s planning team issued an enforcement notice against 360 Cafe, in Wilmslow Road, under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
This was because the Council believed that the premises had illegally changed its use to operate as a shisha lounge, contrary to its original planning permission. The enforcement notice stated that changes to revert the business back to its original purpose had to be completed by December 1 of 2018.
Over the intervening two years, between July 2019 and October 2021 the Council attempted on numerous occasions to resolve the issues with the building’s Owners – Cameolord Limited – however, on two occasions the Council, working with officers from HMRC and GMP visited the premises to seize shisha pipes, tobacco and other smoking paraphernalia.
In spite of frequent attempts to resolve this issue the Council was forced to take legal action. Working alongside financial investigators at Salford Council, the result was Cameolord being found guilty in absentia at a hearing held at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on March 9, 2023, for failing to comply with the enforcement notice. However, an appeal was lodged against this conviction in September of 2023.
But at an appeal hearing the original conviction was upheld and a date was set for sentencing and confiscation hearings, these proceedings concluded on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Sitting at Manchester Crown Court, His Honour Judge Peter Horgan found the actions of the business to have been “persistent and brazen” as it had continued to access their regular rental payments over the course of the offence period, amounting to £321,433.62.
Taking into account the change in the value of money over the period of offending, he concluded that the overall benefit figure from the criminal activity was £383,316.40 and ordered a Confiscation Order in that amount under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The company was also ordered to pay a fine of £35,000 for the offences and prosecution costs of £23,500 were also awarded. The Defendant was given the maximum period of 3 months to pay these sums.
Previously, Mohammad Bashir, 68, of Upper Park Road, Manchester and a Director of the company Cameolord Ltd, pled guilty to an offence under the Town and Planning Act 1990 in March 2023, relating to his failure to resolve the breach; he was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine as well as £1,000 in costs and a £170 victims’ surcharge.
Councillor Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development, said: “Nearly seven years after the Council first began proceedings against this business we can finally close the book on this long-running saga.
“What could have been a straightforward decision to obey the law and comply with the Council’s reasonable request to comply has now cost this business dearly, with hundreds of thousands of pounds being forfeit, as well as a hefty financial penalty for the director.
“Planning law is in place for very good reasons. It protects our community from illegal developments and ensures that businesses cannot chop and change based on a mere whim. I would like to place on record my thanks to our planning and legal team for their hard work and determination to see justice carried out.”
