Shaftesbury has become something of a hot-bed of licensing activity recently. While the ongoing issues with Thirsty Camel seem to be over (the licensing sub-committee on 5 August granted the licence after the applicant assured them he had no personal or business relationship with the Kapoors, the previous managers of the business), two other licensed premises in the ward are having their licences reviews.

The first is Best One on Eversleigh Road. Trading Standard have requested the review following the sale of products to underage customers in test purchases. In February 2013 a test purchase resulted in the sale of tobacco to a 15-year old girl and the business owner was cautioned. This May a subsequent test purchase took place when another 15-year old girl was able to buy alcohol. Trading Standards are requesting a three month suspension of the licence in this case.

Lavender Grocers on Lavender Hill are the subject of the other review. In this case a 15-year old girl (I have no idea if this is the same 15-year old, it seems like a rather Victorian approach to child labour if it is the same girl all the time) was able to buy tobacco. Trading Standards are requesting conditions be added to the licence in order to prevent a recurrence.

As ever, if you wish to make observations on either of these reviews they must be made by 1 September 2014 and they must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk.

The Thirsty Camel off-licence on Lavender Hill

I am incredibly grateful to Thirsty Camel on Lavender Hill. I often feel guilty about not posting enough on the blog, but they are doing their utmost to give me a regular stream of posts. It’s like they are specialists in knock-off cigarettes, underage booze and giving something to local politicians to write about.

That small intersection of people who read this blog and pay attention may have noticed that—despite losing their licence at a recent review—Thirsty Camel continues to trade as normal. They have appealed the previous decision and trading can continue as before until the appeal decision; however clear-cut I might think the case is, this is quite right, there has to be protection for businesses to make sure councils get these decisions right.

The business is, however, covering all outcomes and has applied for a new licence for the premises. While this is legally a new and separate application, it is made by someone connected with the current licensee and I cannot help but have concerns about it. I know the council’s trading standards team will be looking at the application very carefully.

The application is for the sale of alcohol from 8am until midnight on Sunday to Thursday, and from 8am until 2am the following day on Fridays and Saturdays.

If you wish to make a representation you have until 2 May. Representations must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

Given the premises track record of selling counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes and underage sales I consider the first and last items on that list are relevant to this application.

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk.

The Thirsty Camel off-licence on Lavender Hill
Thirsty Camel, otherwise known as Best One, on Lavender Hill. Picture from Google Street View

Best One on Lavender Hill, which trades as Thirsty Camel, has seen its shopkeeper lose his licence to sell alcohol. The review took place after the store was found to be selling counterfeit tobacco and had previously had a licence review after selling alcohol to underage customers which resulted in a temporary licence suspension.

The start of the council’s press release gives the impression it may have been a fairly open and shut case:

A Battersea shopkeeper has had his licence to sell alcohol revoked after thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes were found hidden in his storeroom.

Trading standards officers found nearly 700 packets of contraband tobacco when they searched the Best One store in Lavender Hill. Nearly a third of the packets were fake while the others could not be legally sold in the UK and were smuggled into the country.

The case raises a huge number of points. One of which is that, however noble efforts to reduce smoking are, there are serious risks in plain packaging: which would make counterfeiting easier.

It also highlights the importance of regulation in some areas. I know some businesses feel the council’s various enforcement arms can be heavy handed—especially when most abide by all the necessary laws and regulations—but in cases like this there has to be protection for both the consumer but also competing businesses who, by virtue of abiding by the law, are disadvantaged by those who are not so upstanding when it comes to their business practice.

Grill on the Hill, in pre-Grill on the Hill guise, and Best One, dressed as Thirsty Camel. Pictures from Google Street View.
Grill on the Hill, in pre-Grill on the Hill guise, and Best One, dressed as Thirsty Camel. Pictures from Google Street View.

There are two licensing matters in Shaftesbury ward currently scheduled for consideration by the council’s licensing committee. The first is a new application for ‘Grill on the Hill’ at 89 Lavender Hill. The application is to sell alcohol between 9.00am and 11.00pm seven days a week and to provide late night refreshment until 11.30pm every night.

The premises were 1st Stop Audio Visual, so this will be the first food and drink offer on that particular stretch of shops, but there are plenty of similar offerings nearby. It does not seem that unreasonable an application, although it will be a change of use that might concern the immediate neighbours. Representations, however, must be made by today (the application was submitted before Christmas).

The other licensing matter concerns Best One (now trading as Thirsty Camel) at 246 Lavender Hill. This is a review of the licence against the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective after ‘illicit tobacco products’ were found on the premises. This particular branch of Best One has previously found itself the subject of a review back in 2011 after it was caught selling alcohol to underage customers. The closing date for representations on this review is 30 January.

For either case, the representations must relate to the four licensing objectives:

  • The prevention of crime and disorder
  • The prevention of public nuisance
  • Public safety
  • The protection of children from harm

The council’s licensing pages provide more information.

If you wish to make an observation you can do so by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk.

Best One, Eversleigh Road (from Google Streetview)

The licensing sub-committee considered Best One’s licensing application last month. The original application was for a licence until 11pm. However (and perhaps in response to local representations) the applicant reduced the hours requested to 9pm six days a week, and 6pm on Sundays.

The application was granted, with a number of conditions to address some of the concerns including:

  • Staff training
  • Installation of CCTV
  • Underage sales prevention
  • ‘Respect your neighbours’ signage
  • Litter cleaning after closing

You can see the full decision on the council’s website.


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Wandsworth’s Trading Standards team have applied for a licence review for Best One on Lavender Hill.

The review application has been made because they believe the current licence conditions are not upholding the licencing objective of protecting children from harm (the council has four licencing objectives, preventing public nuisance, preventing crime and disorder, public safety and the protection of children from harm).

If you have any observation to make you have until 21 February to make it, either by writing to:
Head of Licensing
Licensing Section
London Borough of Wandsworth
PO Box 47095
London
SW18 9AQ

or by emailing licensing@wandsworth.gov.uk