Blakenhall store loses licence over out-of-hours alcohol sale

Billa Mini Market in Upper Villiers Street, Blakenhall, had previously applied for a licence variation to extend licensable hours and remove a condition that prohibits the sale of single units with an ABV of 6.5 per cent or over, in July last year.

At the time, the store had been found to be in breach of its licensing conditions by already doing so.

An application to review the shop’s premises licence was made by the council’s section leader for licensing, Amitabh Singh, on the grounds of failure to uphold all four licensing objectives through multiple breaches of conditions.

He told the council’s statutory licensing sub-committee: “On May 2, 2023, a senior licensing and compliance officer conducted a routine inspection of the premises. The premises licence holder Kulwant Kaur, and designated premises supervisor Sukhdev Singh, were not present at the time of the officer’s inspection.

“The visit was conducted with the manager and the premises was found to be in breach of licence conditions. The breaches related to single cans and bottles of alcohol with an ABV of 6.5 per cent or over that were available for sale. The officer conducting the visit requested that these items be removed whilst they were present.

“A designated public place order (DPPO) was not displayed on the premises, as to be visible from the outside of the store, advising that police have powers to seize alcohol. There was no incident book maintained or provided to any member of the responsible authorities on request.

“All staff had not had training and refresher training every six months as per their licensing conditions, and all staff had not been trained in 'Challenge 25'. The premises was advised to rectify these breaches within 14 days,” he added.

“Following on from that visit, a further visit was conducted on June 1, 2023, when a senior licensing and compliance officer reentered the premises to follow up on the breaches. The visit was conducted with the premises manager again, and their inspection found that breaches of licensing condistions still remained outstanding.

“The breaches related to single cans and bottles of alcohol with an ABV of 6.5 per cent or over that were available for sale. Again, the officer conducting the visit requested that these items be removed immediately. Staff training had still not been carrried out and all staff had still not been trained in Challenge 25.

“A further 14 days were provided for to  the breaches to be rectified. Advice was given that a failure to comply could result in a review of their licence. On June 2, 2023, the premises licence holder emailed the team stating that an inspector came round to the premises the previous day and informed them that they were not allowed to sell beers over 6.5 per cent. He said he was unsure where it specified this in the licence.

“On June 6, 2023, a senior licensing officer again visited the premises to ensure that single cans and bottles of alcohol with an ABV of 6.5 per cent or over were no longer available for sale. The officer that visited confirmed that there was no breach of this condition,” said Mr Singh.

He requested that a test purchase be carried out to see if alcohol was being sold from the premises outside of licensable hours. At the time of the test purchase, the store was licensed to sell alcohol off the premises from 9am to 10.45pm. On August 10, an officer entered the shop at 8.20am, and after being asked to provide photo ID, purchased one can of Red Stripe lager and a can of Banks’s Mild for £3.24.

In a letter to licensing bosses, Senior Public Health Specialist Ryan Hollings said: “The evidence put forward by the licensing authority is very concerning. The reported instances are shocking and show a clear neglect of the Licensing Act 2003, in not upholding the four licensing objectives. This is further exacerbated by the fact that no refusal book was provided upon request. In addition, there was the sale of age-restricted items outside of agreed hours.”

Following deliberation, the committee decided to revoke the premises licence. Chair Zee Russell said: “The decision of the sub-committee is to revoke the licence for the catalogue of breaches. We have to look after the residents’ safety, and unfortunately we don’t have faith in going forward as to whether or not there will be more breaches.”

Council solicitor Ronald Sempebwa added: “The sub-committee was very concerned about the various breaches that have been outlined by the applicant. The sub-committee’s primary responsibility is to ensure the promotion of the licensing objectives which – given all the evidence we have heard today – can only be achieved by the revocation of the premises licence.”