£10 spend limit imposed on store to sell alcohol

A city centre food store in Wakefield has been given permission to sell alcohol to customers who spend at least £10 on other goods.

The shop owners were granted an off-licence subject to the condition which is designed to keep street drinkers out of the premises.

Police and Wakefield Council officers objected to the application by Orzelek International Foods, claiming it would add to drink-related anti-social behaviour problems in the area.

The premises on George Street is within the council’s ‘cumulative impact zone’ – an area identified as being under the most stress from crime, disorder and public nuisance.

The zone was first introduced by Wakefield Council in 2006, in response to concerns there was too much drinking in the city centre.

New applications for an alcohol licence from city centre premises tend to be rejected unless they can demonstrate they will improve the area.

A Wakefield Council licensing sub-committee approved the application to sell alcohol daily, between 9am and 10pm.

Councillors heard how the owners had “stringent” measures in place to keep out street drinkers.

Orzelek’s original application stated that alcohol would not be sold to a customer unless they also spent a minimum of £5 on other items, excluding tobacco.

Licensing agent Nick Semper told the hearing: “You have before you the most robust counter street drinking conditions seen in West Yorkshire.

“What street drinker would purchase alcohol from this shop when they are required to spend an extra £5 on groceries that they do not want, when they could go to Morrisons nearby, or anywhere else for that matter, and purchase whatever they want, in the quantities they want?”

Mr Semper then told councillors that the owners were prepared to up the minimum spend to £10.

He said customers at the store would also be required to buy a minimum of four cans of alcohol and no ‘superstrength’ products would be sold.

Describing the business, Mr Semper said: “They cover 450 square metres and constitute the largest Polish supermarket in the city, and probably for miles around.

“It cost £500,000 to equip and stock.

“It carries £250,000 of exclusively Polish stock. Over 25 per cent of the lines you cannot source in your normal eastern European corner shops.

“On a good day it turns over £2,000 and is on track to have an annual turnover of £500,000.

“They cater to Polish families who travel from Ossett, Pontefract, Dewsbury and even as far as Leeds.

“They sell to family shoppers, who arrive by car, do their weekly shopping there and for whom the £5 contingent sale would never be a problem to them as the average spend in the premises per customer is around £25 per basket or trolley.

“In short, these premises are truly exceptional.”

Ian Mullarkey, representing West Yorkshire Police, said granting a further licence would contribute to “a significant and ongoing problem” of crime and disorder in that area of the city centre.

Mr Mullarkey said: “The police are actively engaged in a proactive way with existing premises licence holders to try and address the problem.

“The concern is, by granting another licence in this area, where the police are trying to put a cap on this behaviour, it would simply provide another opportunity for street drinking and anti-social behaviour.

“The whole purpose of the policy is to recognise that there is a cumulative impact of having this number of premises.

“It will operate outside of what might be deemed to be ordinary supermarket hours.

“It will provide an opportunity for street drinkers and others to acquire alcohol at times when they would not normally be able to.”