A Wembley cash and carry has warned that the council’s decision to refuse to allow it to sell high strength beers risks killing its business.
The shop said not being able to sell it will reduce its footfall but the police accused the premises of contributing to problems with street drinking and antisocial behaviour in the area.
Malar Cash and Carry, a 24-hour shop on Wembley High Road, applied to change its existing premises licence to enable it to sell more beers above the 6 per cent limit, but an additional request to allow it to stock single cans was removed ahead of the hearing. The Met Police opposed the plan and suggested it will push for harsher restrictions instead.
PC Brendon McInnes told Brent Council’s Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee that Wembley High Street already has “major ongoing issues” with street drinking and antisocial behaviour, and allowing high strength beers to be added to the premises licence would “just contribute more”.
He said: “[There are] smashed bottles on the high street, empty cans just left there. It looks absolutely disgusting. Wembley High Street is home to the national football stadium, […] no-one’s going to want tourists looking at that. If anything I think more stringent conditions should be imposed on the venue.”
Malar sits within a Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) – designed to limit the number of premises selling alcohol in a particular area – meaning the presumption is that the variation of the licence will be refused. The entire borough of Brent is also subject to a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which is legislation designed to combat rising levels of street crime and antisocial behaviour – much of which is alcohol-fuelled.
The police claim the venue already has an issue with street drinking and suggest it shows no regard for the CIZ or the PSPO. PC McInnes pointed to a ledge available on a neighbouring premise, which he said acts “as if it were in a bar” for customers to put their drinks on, making it an ideal place for people to meet and then leave their empty bottles and cans.
He told the sub-committee: “[They] have cash and carry labels on them so there is only one place they are coming from. [It has been warned] but I walk past this venue on a daily basis and nothing has changed.
“Until [it] can be seen to try and do something about this problem I would not be happy about granting the high strength lagers, beers, and ciders.”
The premises had already breached its licensing objectives in October 2022, when a member of staff was also issued with a £90 fine after they failed a test purchase operation and sold alcohol to a person under 18. PC McInnes said the premises is “well on [the police’s] radar” and it is “only a matter of time” before they put in an application to have its current licence reviewed.
The Licensing Consultant acting on behalf of the owner, Naga Rajesh, acknowledged that this was “a mistake and a failure” by the member of staff but said not allowing the sale of higher strength alcohol would reduce the footfall and “kill the business” as it is already “on the brink of collapsing”.
Mr Rajesh told the committee that the shop has a “restricted customer base” as it predominantly provides groceries for the Sri Lankan community. He claimed that people buy alcohol as part of a larger shop but if they couldn’t sell the high strength beers, customers would go to other outlets that do.
Malar, which specialises in providing Sri Lankan food and household items, wanted to add Dragan Stout, Lion Stout, and Guinness to its product range. The cash and carry had been able to sell Lion Stout due to having a special exemption to sell the 7.5 per cent ABV beer popular with the Sri Lankan community, however, changes to the manufacturing means it is now 8.8 per cent and not covered by the licence. Mr Rajesh said not being able to sell this has resulted in a “massive loss” and claimed the business “can’t go on like this”.
Responding to PC McInnes’ point about the street drinking and antisocial behaviour, Mr Rajesh said that the owner is fully aware of the problems and claimed they are trying to help the authorities tackle them. He said: “[…] businesses like my clients’, they put in their investment, their property, their staff on the frontline”.
He added: “These are the people that face these problems every single day. They want to run a decent business without any headache, it’s their livelihood. My client never sells alcohol to any known troublemakers.”
Mr Rajesh claimed that staff do “confront the troublemakers” but they then become “more aggressive”. He acknowledged that some people “slip through the net” but those that are still able to purchase alcohol and go on to street drink “are exceptions”.
Ultimately, the sub-committee refused the application. As the premises is situated within a CIZ there is a presumption that any changes to the licence that increases the scope of alcohol sold will be refused unless the applicant can demonstrate that it will not impact the licensing objectives. The sub-committee said it was of the “firm view” that Malar had not overcome the presumption.
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
