Brent Council’s approach to shisha cafés in the borough has been nominated for an environmental health award.

It set up a multi-agency task force to tackle the various issues sometimes associated with the bars, including anti-social behaviour, littering and unwanted noise.

The project was shortlisted for an excellence award from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) for its commitment to improving shisha cafés.

This includes a campaign to highlight the dangers associated with smoking and a zero-tolerance approach to crime at the venues.

Cllr Tom Miller, responsible for stronger communities at Brent Council, said: “I'm really pleased that the team has been shortlisted for this excellence award.

“Recognition like this gives everybody a boost and the results the team achieved show how important their work is.

“There's been a big growth in shisha cafés in Brent over the last few years, and we have to make sure they trade legally and ethically, and don't blight the area with anti-social behaviour, litter or other nuisances.”

The council noted that, during a six-month operation by the task force, all incidents of violent crime at shisha bars were stamped out.

Several non-compliant venues were shut down and planning enforcement removed all equipment from nine uncooperative cafés.

The agency is now working with the borough’s police tasking team, but the council explained that it will run again if instances of violent crime at shisha bars return.