A North London convenience store’s plan to sell alcohol has been refused over concerns it will further fuel antisocial behaviour and street drinking. The shop tried to argue that it is “not an alcohol-led off-licence” and has a “niche focus” on party supplies but a review decided there was “no plausible or convincing evidence” that it wouldn’t result in greater levels of antisocial behaviour.
Brent Council’s Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee concluded that there was “no persuasive evidence” of how concerns raised by both the police and the licensing authority would be mitigated by the owners. Therefore, the convenience store has been refused a licence to sell alcohol for the second time in a matter of months.
The licensing authority said adding a ninth off-licence within a 350m area would “contribute to alcohol-related antisocial behaviour”, whilst the Police told the committee that it is already getting complaints about street drinking in the area “almost on a daily basis”. PC Brendon McInnes said officers are currently trying to take action against a nearby off-licence as street drinking is affecting local businesses and residents with young children are “being disturbed”.
The premises sits within the Ealing Road Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), which were created to combat crime, antisocial behaviour, and street drinking in hotspots throughout the borough making it difficult for new premises to get alcohol licences. The latest police figures show that, during October last year, 143 crimes were recorded within the postcode and officers fear adding another off-licence in the area will exacerbate the problem.
In January, Sai Krupa Supermarket on Ealing Road in Alperton, Wembley, applied to sell alcohol from 6am to 11pm seven days a week, which was rejected by the sub-committee in February. The store submitted a new application, which was heard this week (June 19), that proposed reducing the hours to 9am until 11pm.
The owner, Kettan Patel, also claimed the shop “specialises in party supplies” by having a couple of shelves dedicated to items including balloons and disposable cups and plates, which differentiates it from other shops in the area. However, PC McInnes said the premises is “not specialised in any way”, nor is it catering to a specific community. He added that alcohol-related crime is an “on-going issue for police”, of which allowing this application would further contribute to.
Representing Mr Patel, Innpacked Ltd’s Licensing Specialist, Steven Bartlett, responded to say that they “respect and understand” the concerns raised but had submitted a “more robust application” this time around. He claimed the nature of the business “does differentiate it” from others as it is “not alcohol-led” – with between 15 and 20 per cent of sales expected to come from alcohol.
Mr Bartlett told the committee that selling alcohol is needed to “secure the business for the future”, as it is losing customers to other shops that do. He added that the shop owners would take a more active approach in dealing with street drinkers by reporting them to the police and banning them from the shop, claiming these “robust conditions” would ensure the issue didn’t worsen.
Ultimately, the committee refused the application as “no plausible or convincing evidence” was put forward to address the issues that resulted in the implementation of the CIZ, as well as “no persuasive evidence” of how concerns raised by the police and licensing authority were going to be “proactively mitigated”.
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