Wolverhampton city centre shop wins licence appeal after street drinking concerns

Baljit Singh Batiya, designated premises supervisor of The Newsagents in School Street, Wolverhampton, appealed against two of the 15 conditions imposed by the city council during a review of its premises licence last year after police raised issues caused by alcohol being sold to beggars and street drinkers who were regularly intoxicated.

In October last year, West Midlands Police said the shop 'encouraged' street drinking and begging, accusing Mr Batiya of "blatantly ignoring the licensing objective of prevention of crime and disorder" by allowing staff to serve them.

However, the shopkeeper said he was being portrayed as the "bad guy", adding that customers battered him and damaged his shop when he refused to serve them alcohol and he’d received no support when he reported incidents to the police.

Members of Wolverhampton Council's licensing sub-committee decided the shop could continue selling alcohol, but imposed 15 conditions, including licensing legislation, underage and proxy sales training, keeping a refusals log and CCTV.

At an appeal in Dudley Magistrates Court on Friday April 28, Mr Batiya's appeal against being banned from selling super strength lagers, beers or ciders stronger than 6.5 per cent ABV and selling beer, cider or mixed drinks - such as cocktails or alcopops - in multipacks of four or more was heard.

While the court ruled the limit on the strength of alcohol should remain in place, it was decided that restricting the shop to selling multipacks no smaller than four cans was "too high a threshold for a small struggling business". The condition was therefore amended to two cans.

A spokeswoman for Wolverhampton Council said: "The council notes the court’s decision and will monitor the situation to ensure the revised two-can condition strikes a balance between helping to address the impact of alcohol on residents while acknowledging the financial pressures faced by small businesses.”