The TikTok chicken shop attracting people from Birmingham to Burnley – but driving locals nearby mad

It’s brought customers from all over the country to Burnage. But its popularity has come with problems, claim locals – including litter car parking issues and an influx of seagulls.

Over the last year or so, Miami Crispy in Lane End Road has seen a rapid rise in success. Customers are coming from far and wide – Birmingham to Burnley – to try ‘the best spicy chicken burger in the country’, as the sign above attests.

The takeaway became an internet sensation after glowing reviews on TikTok – and it is not the only burger joint to go viral in the south Manchester suburb. But residents living nearby claim some of their customers are causing havoc in the area.

Predictably, parking is a problem, particularly as many customers arrive by car and the long queues mean the wait for food can take up to 40 minutes. But it’s the rise in rubbish around the area that has really riled up some residents.

Monday mornings are the worst, according to staff at the local Tesco who claim they regularly find litter scattered across the supermarket’s car park. Meanwhile, residents – who have reported a rise in rats in the area – claim they are woken up by the sound of seagulls ‘screeching.’

The takeaway says it has always made sure waste from its business is properly and hygienically disposed of and that further measures were put in place after residents raised concerns. However, it has been ‘surprised’ by the recent rise in litter, claiming it has not seen a similar boost to business over the same period.

Manchester council has increased litter enforcement in the area, and although all takeaways are complying with what they have been asked to do, according to one council officer, community tensions are ‘extremely high’.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Habib Ejaz, who lives in Burnage Lane, says the situation is ‘horrendous’. Working as a postman in the city centre, he claims he is woken up every morning by ‘screeching’ seagulls and when he returns home, he has nowhere to park.

“The seagulls wake you up because they’re all fighting for the food,” he said. “I’ve been here almost 30 years. It’s never been messy here. Now it’s the smell. You’d think we’re living in a rubbish dump.”

Tom Maher, who lives in Lane End Road, claims some people park in spaces which signs say are reserved for residents – and claims they leave rubbish ‘all over the place’. But he doesn’t blame the business for getting busier in the last year.

“I think they’re trying their best,” he said. “The customers are the problem.”

Cynthia McTaggart, who lives on the same row of terraced houses, says things have got worse this summer. There is a sign at the entrance of the car park on the corner of Burnage Lane and Lane End Road saying ‘residents parking only’.

But Cynthia claims Miami Crispy’s customers often ignore it. She believes residents’ parking permits should now be introduced in the area to avoid further ‘altercations’ between residents and the takeaway’s customers.

“We had a fight to get the car park,” she said. “I know we haven’t got a god-given right to park here, but it was put here for the residents.”

Housing association Southway, which owns the car park, says it is aware of the issues affecting residents. It will be installing new and bigger signs for the car park and work with the local authority to make sure parking rules are enforced. The organisation has also been litter picking in the area every week and has been reassured by takeaway staff that they litter pick every day after closing. Nevertheless, warning against a new takeaway opening on the same street this summer, local residents said the litter is leading to an increase in vermin.

“We never had seagulls years ago in Burnage,” one resident living in Lavister Avenue told a town hall meeting last month. “We’ve got seagulls now though. I don’t know if they’ve just decided to come round and have a look. But we’ve got seagulls, we’ve got rats, we’ve got all sorts.”

The comments came as local residents objected to a late night licence for a new takeaway in Lane End Road. They were joined by a council officer who told the licensing panel that the local authority has been ‘hammered’ with complaints about the number of takeaways in the area ‘every single day’.

Mandy Salmon, who is the council’s neighbourhood manager for Burnage, Didsbury East and Didsbury West, said that the five litter bins in the area are emptied every day, but contractor Biffa is ‘struggling’ with the rise in demand. She also revealed that litter enforcement teams would be working overtime this month to tackle the issue, but said this arrangement is ‘not sustainable’.

GMP’s neighbourhood policing team has also been asked to ‘pay more attention’ to the area by addressing traffic congestion and illegal parking. “Community tensions are extremely high in relation to the litter, the parking, the anti-social behaviour issues and the introduction of a further takeaway will significantly increase the tensions,” the council officer told the licensing panel.

Taman Barzinji, who applied for a licence to serve food until 1am at First Time Pizza in Lane End Road, said he understands the issues residents are facing. He confirmed he is the cousin of Miami Crispy’s owner, but said his business – based where The Chicken Hub once was – is a ‘completely different venture’.

He promised that his staff would clean the street ‘every night’ and offered to close the takeaway to walk-in customers and only do deliveries after 11pm. The application was approved by the licensing panel at the hearing on July 31.

A Manchester council spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the issues around littering and anti-social behaviour in the area, and in the interim has made additional resources available for enforcement activity. In the long-run the council would like to reassure residents that potential solutions are being explored which could improve the situation.”

Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Miami Crispy said: “First of all, I should say that I am obviously very pleased that the food MIAMI CRISPY makes is so well appreciated. We have many loyal customers and it is always important to us to serve them well and make food that they enjoy.

“We do understand that our popularity has meant that the number of customers has increased over the years. We have always made sure that waste from our business is properly and hygienically disposed of.

“Following the concerns raised by local residents we have, as you have highlighted, put further measures in place to try to ensure that litter is minimised. We genuinely care about local residents – after all everyone who is lucky enough to have home wants to feel comfortable in it and we are no different.

“We have been surprised by what seems to have been an increase in the amount of litter which has been giving rise to complaints recently – because there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in business. We are not sure of the reason for this.

“The market for fried chicken in Manchester is, as you are probably aware, very competitive and there are less scrupulous operators who have been known to focus more on trying to harm their competitors than the success of their own business. Nonetheless, we will continue to do all that we can to prosper by selling food our customers love whilst at the same time ensure that we play our part in making the local area one residents feel comfortable living in.”