THE owner of a cafe has said he faces going under if the council does not allow provision for customers to sit outside.

Savas Moustakas, of El Greco in Church Street, Blackburn, had a gazebo outside his cafe for customers who wanted to sit outside.

But he said the council told him he had to take it down.

He said: “When we had the gazebo people would come because they could keep dry. People used it all the time.

“I was thinking of getting another, then the council told me to take it out.

“After three or four weeks, a woman came and told me if I didn’t take it down they would call the police.”

Mr Moustakas said while in Bolton he saw a structure he was hoping he could use.

“It is an outdoor seating area, with tables and chairs, but the council wasn’t satisfied,” he said.

“I took a picture and took it to show the council.

They said I would have to apply to put it up, but said if I did it would be rejected.

“What is the point?”

Mr Moustakas started his business in Blackburn shopping centre in 1968, but had to move out when the redevelopment began.

He said there was not enough footfall in Church Street since it was pedestrianised.

He said: “When they decided to pedestrianise it, the artist’s impression was full of cafes like mine, but it hasn’t turned out like that.

The street doesn’t bring enough people in.

“If it carries on like this, I could go under.”

Brian Bailey, director of regeneration for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Church Street is a public highway and a conservation area, and the cafe is in a listed building, so it presents a significant challenge.

“There are also considerations around a permanent structure attracting anti-social behaviour in the evenings when it is not in use.

“We will continue to work with Mr Moustakas to find a solution that both benefits the cafe and enhances the area.”