Concerns raised over alcohol sales plan at city centre shop

Reservations about store's location in relation to licence bid

A new convenience store in Wolverhampton city centre has applied for a licence to sell alcohol until 1am, raising concerns it could lead to late-night disturbances from people already drunk. One Stop shop in Stafford Street originally asked to remain open for 24 hours, according to West Midlands Police licensing officials.

This was later ruled out, and the store - due to open soon - applied to sell alcohol until 1am from Thursdays to Saturdays and midnight on all other days. But city licensing leaders, Public Health and the police have all expressed reservations in light of the application from Rashid Hussain, who outlined to the city council the steps he intended to take to uphold all four of the licensing objectives.

They were staff training, Challenge 25, a refusals log, correct signage, DPS authorisations and the display of licensing regulations. A statement from Amitabh Singh, section leader for licensing, said: "The premises is situated on the cusp of the city centre's Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) and as such will be considered under the same approach as per the council's statement of licensing policy, which states that off-licences should not be granted a premises licence within the CIZ."

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A CIZ is a designated zone where the number, type or density of licensed premises has impacted adversely on the licensing objectives of crime and disorder, public safety, public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. "In recent years there has been a noticeable shift towards more people buying alcohol from shops and drinking at home before going out to pubs and clubs otherwise known as 'pre-loading'.

"The council is concerned that alcohol pre-loading from off-licence sales is a significant problem in the city and adversely affects the licensing objectives," said Mr Singh. "Regarding the reduction of licensing hours from 9am to midnight, I am not satisfied the proposed timings will not further exacerbate the issues that exist within the CIZ due to the proximity of other licensed premises.

"Having spoken to Kayley Nixon, licensing officer from West Midlands Police who attended a site visit, she has stated she was informed the premises wanted to stay open for 24 hours. The proposed timings for alcohol sales seem excessive for a small off-licence, concerningly to 1am from Thursday to Saturday, as it seems it wants to attract trade from passing pedestrians who may already be intoxicated," he added.

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Correspondence from health improvement officer Ellina Bawa, on behalf of Public Health, said: "Wolverhampton has one of the highest alcohol specific mortality death rates in the country. The city centre experiences significantly high levels of alcohol-related harm, and I would expect the operating schedule and the conditions proposed to reflect this, as it does not currently. Additionally, the hours requested for the sale of alcohol off the premises are concerning given the location of the premises."

Simon Voysey from Licence Leader, acting on behalf of Mr Hussain, said they would be willing to take up offers of mediation from licensing, Public Health and West Midlands Police. He also offered a series of voluntary conditions to be added to the operating schedule, including no beer, lager or cider with an ABV of 6.5 per cent or above and no single cans or bottles to be sold at any time.

"The shop has recently undergone extensive refurbishment at great cost to the applicant. The business plan that they are working to means that they need to maximise the available hours for sales of alcohol, hence the hours requested," he added. All interested parties have been invited to attend the Statutory Licensing Sub-Committee hearing on Monday, February 12.