A roof top street food venue on top of an Asda supermarket in Walsall has been shut down - after opening without permission
A food court on top of Asda in Walsall has been shut down after it opened without planning permission.
Walsall Council issued a temporary stop notice to the Rooftop Food Court which opened earlier this year.
Located on the fourth floor of the George Street multi-storey car park, the venue offers an outdoor cinema, 500 parking spaces and seating for 350.
When it was open it had more than half a dozen vendors, each offering different street food items out of shipping containers.
In drone footage by Kibo Utete @ShotByKibo, the venue was seen decorated with industrial fairy lights and picnic benches, in a similar style to that of Digbeth Dining Club in Birmingham, and potentially as popular.
But, Walsall Council says the owner launched the venture without any planning permission and issued a temporary stop notice on October 21, 2025.
The notice said the activities pose an ‘immediate risk’ to public safety and structural integrity of the land and adjoining properties.
The authority is currently considering if further action is required due to the ‘ongoing lack of compliance’ by the owner.
Owner of the site, Mohammed Khalid, has called on the council to remove the stop notice.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: “We’ve put a retrospective planning application in. We have provided the safety reports, every single report that’s required.
“In Birmingham, which follows the same rules as far as planning and enforcement are concerned, there’s three food courts operating. All three haven’t got any planning commission and no enforcements on them.
“There’s car parks literally all over the country with food trailers on there.
“Genuinely it was overnight success story. We’re asking the council to remove the stop notice.”
A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “We became aware of the rooftop food court’s operation at the multi-storey car park above ASDA on George Street in August 2025.
“Our investigation has found the operation to be unauthorised and requiring planning permission, resulting in a Temporary Stop Notice being issued. We are currently considering if further action is required due to ongoing lack of compliance by the owner.”
