An award-winning Bromley borough restaurant which had its licence suspended for numerous health and safety breaches, as well as suspicions it was illegally housing workers, is set to appeal the decision.

Bromley Council announced on Wednesday the licence holder for Shampan at The Spinning Wheel, based at Westerham, would appeal the authority’s decision.

The council earlier this month suspended the restaurant’s premises licence for three months, following a review hearing.

The review stemmed from a March 13 raid by the council, immigration authorities and police which revealed 25 “clearly occupied” beds crammed onto the first floor of the premises, as well as numerous health and safety breaches.

The licensing committee’s decision, released to the public on July 10, saw councillors reject assertions from Shampan’s management the beds were only used for kitchen staff to “mooch out” between shifts.

“The committee accepted the evidence that there were 25 beds in total that were clearly occupied overnight with suitcases, wardrobes and drawers full of clothes and toiletries in every shower room,” the decision minutes read.

The committee also took issue with numerous health and safety issues found during the search.

Councillor Pauline Tunnicliffe, the chairman of the general purposes and licensing committee, backed the council’s decision to suspend the business’s premises licence on Wednesday.

“We do believe that the council’s decision to suspend the licence was proportionate and was directly related to the seriousness of the evidence that we came across,” Cllr Tunnicliffe, who also chaired the licence panel review meeting, said.

“Clearly we will outline the rationale for our decision to the Magistrates as required in due course and will not comment further before then.”

As part of licensing legislation, a licence holder has a right of appeal against a suspension decision to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of the decision.

The appeal will be heard by a Magistrate, with Bromley Council no longer the decision-making authority on the case.

Details of the hearing date are not yet available.

The council confirmed the three-month suspension previously imposed will be held in abeyance until the appeal is heard and the premises will continue to trade during this time.