Wolverhampton shop gets go-ahead to sell high-strength booze
A convenience store in Wolverhampton has been given the go-ahead to stock high-strength alcoholic drinks on a trial basis – provided they are sold in packs of four and not as single bottles or cans.
Costcutter in Graiseley Lane, Wednesfield, also known as Bains, had applied to the council for licence changes that would allow it to sell alcoholic drinks with an ABV of 5.8 per cent or above.
Licensing bosses this week approved the conditions for an initial period of six months, after which they will review the situation.
Concerns about amending the licence had earlier been raised by West Midlands Police and Public Health, who said it could lead to antisocial behaviour and an increased likelihood of risk to those affected by alcohol-related harm.
A statement on behalf of the store said: “The variation to sell beers, ciders or lagers above 5.8 per cent ABV gives us the ability to stock a wider range of beverages in our store. We pride ourselves on being responsible retailers of alcohol and tobacco and have gone above and beyond to uphold all licensing objectives as a business, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
“We have a strong reputation within the community as trustworthy and dependable retailers, and the fact that we have yet to be subjected to any test purchase exercises carried out by the council speaks volumes. We keep full and detailed refusal logs and although rarely used, our incident log is also very comprehensive and detailed in comparison to other local businesses.
“The cost of inflation has had a major impact on our business over the past year with our utility bills, which were already sky-high, doubling and tripling. One of the only things that keeps our regular customers coming back is our reputation for stocking a wider variety of lines across all items in comparison to other local shops – particularly when it comes to alcoholic beverages.
“We rely on that reputation to keep those customers coming back, as we offer them the convenience of wider variety on their doorstep, alleviating the need to travel out to bigger supermarkets,” said the statement.
