A Bedford convenience store seeking permission to sell stronger alcohol told councillors the move would make the business “more inclusive”.
PD Express Food and Wine, at 28 Commercial Road, applied to extend its licensed hours for alcohol sales from the current 7am–10pm to 7am–2am daily.
The shop also sought an amendment to the condition currently imposed on the licence from:
‘No super-strength beer, lagers or ciders of 6.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) or above shall be sold at the premises’ to ‘No super-strength beer, lagers or ciders of 6.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) or above shall be sold at the premises with the exception of Dragon Stout and Guinness Export beers.’
The applicant’s agent, Frank Fender, told Bedford Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee (Thursday, January 29), that these “super strength” beers are not usually the “street drinkers’ choice of drink”.
“They are widely consumed by members of the Afro-Caribbean community, and obviously, this shop wants to be inclusive,” he said.
This claim was backed up by Chris Hawks, the council’s licensing compliance and enforcement officer.
He said: “What Frank says about Dragon Stout and Guinness Export is spot on. There is a particular part of the community that tends to drink those drinks; the street drinkers don’t tend to drink it.
“We do have it as an exception on a number of different off-licenses around the town.”
Mr Fender said the store was a general convenience shop selling groceries, household goods and medicines, with alcohol “complementing” other products rather than being the shop’s sole focus.
No responsible authorities, including police or environmental health, lodged objections. One written public objection was received, but the objector did not attend the hearing.
Speculative objections
Mr Fender described the written objection as “speculative”, arguing it referred to what might happen rather than evidence of actual problems.
He added that there were no representations from people living in the immediate area.
Sub-committee chair, cllr Christine McHugh (Lib Dem, Goldington) said: “Apparently, the extended hours are driven by local residents.
A lot of people would say, ‘oh, I thought there were quite a few Muslim residents around there, I’m really surprised that the local Muslim residents are seeking to buy alcohol between 10pm and 2am’.
“Do you have any thoughts on that?” she asked the agent.
Mr Fender replied: “Well, I think all I could say there, chair, is that the application has been advertised in accordance with law and should those persons have any concerns whatsoever, then it was within their gift to have made a representation in their own right.”
“Again, there were no representations from any of those persons.”
Cllr McHugh also raised concerns about the potential for late-night congregation outside the premises.
Mr Fender said there was no evidence that the shop was currently used as a social gathering point and did not expect this to change.
A written decision is expected to be published by the council within five working days.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
