COUNTY planners have rejected a scheme to open a shisha lounge in Hereford over air pollution and noise concerns.

Ardalan Ghafour had asked Herefordshire Council for permission to open the bar to at the back of 8 Belmont Road.

But council officers felt the bar would have an unacceptable adverse air pollution and noise impact on nearby homes.

A shisha is a glass-bottomed water pipe in which fruit-flavoured tobacco is covered with foil and roasted with charcoal.

Water pipe smoking is a traditional practice in the Middle East and southern Asia.

The planning statement submitted in support of the scheme said it is becoming popular in western countries, particularly among younger people and its use is higher among black and minority ethnic groups.

“Mr Ghafour wishes to provide a facility and venue where cultural traditions that he understands can be enjoyed by a community that he knows well,” the statement read.

“He sees this enterprise as offering something to enable like-minded people to come together and enjoy each other’s company, and to be able to partake in a traditional custom.

“He would like to be able to offer shisha in Hereford for the first time.”

The decision to reject the scheme can be appealed.