Tesco has urged councillors to grant a drinks licence for a proposed new store in the centre of Brighton.
But Brighton and Hove City Council’s licensing team has objected to Tesco’s application to sell alcohol from 8am to 10pm daily at the currently vacant site at 194 Western Road.
According to the objection, it would breach the council’s policies if a new licence to sell alcohol was granted for the former Currys store opposite Churchill Square shopping centre.
At a licensing panel hearing today (Monday 21 October), council licensing officer Emma Grant said that the policy restricted new off-licences because of a “saturation” of premises selling alcohol in the area.
Barrister Jeremy Bark, for Tesco, said that the new store, between Marks and Spencer and Costa, would be unique because customers would not have direct access to alcohol.
Tesco had already agreed a draft condition with Sussex Police to restrict alcohol to a display behind a perspex or similar screen.
Customers would have to ask for alcoholic drinks rather than pick them by hand, the panel of three councillors heard.
He said: “What that means is there is no self-service. Members of the public will have to come and ask people for the alcohol if they wish to purchase it.
“It also means there will be a fairly limited range within this particular store.”
As a Tesco Express store, the branch would stock about 5,000 lines, of which between 70 and 110 would be alcohol.
Mr Bark said that if a member of staff decided not to sell alcohol to a customer for any reason, such as failing to produce identification if challenged or if they appeared drunk, a manager would not override the decision.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras would focus on the tills and door and movable cameras would film elsewhere inside the store.
Tesco was now issuing staff with body-worn cameras, with at least two in each store, one for a security guard and the other for a team leader.
The panel – Julie Cattell, Lucy Helliwell and Tobias Sheard – retired to decide the application. The decision should be made public within five working days.
Issuing staff with body-worn cameras suggests there is already a heightened and tangible risk to staff there. Alcohol sales increase this risk further. A study by Clarke et al., (2023) already shows that reducing the availability of alcohol has a significant effect on reducing consumption – strengthening the position that this license should not be given.
Moreover, the barrister fails to address the perfectly reasonable objection that it breaches the council’s policies. So, as long as that objection still stands, any other argument the gentleman wishes to raise is moot.
I imagine that if the license is refused it would be the only Tesco Express in the country without one. I doubt Tesco will proceed on that basis. A city centre location such as this will always have problems with crime, some of it alcohol related. This is a matter that would be better addressed by a greater police presence and a u-turn on the fatuous policy first introduced by a previous Labour leader (Nancy Platts), of making Brighton and Hove a ‘City of Sanctuary’ and the type of person this attracts.
Doubtless there are problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption but the majority of the more serious issues by a certain lawless, irresponsible type. The granting of a license for this new store will essentially make accessing alcohol no more or less difficult to these people and consequently have little effect on associated crime.
Check your history
https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000117/M00005115/AI00043582/$Item83dGrnGrpCityofSanctuary.docA.ps.pdf
The Greens were leading the council at the time.
You check yours.
You’ve highlighted the motion for this. Labour regained control of the council on 7th May 2015. In any event the Greens were only minority leaders up until then and required the coalition of Labour to get anything through.
And Labour didn’t have a majority either after the May 2015 election.
They had 23 seats , the Greens 20 and the Tories 11
Its the 24 hour shops that are the problem, make them stop selling alcohol at 11pm.
That doesn’t negate this refusal though I agree that late night alcohol sales in general are a contributing factor.
Yes, promote the sale of drugs instead, available around the corner, for less.