Brum store’s booze bid bombs

A supermarket in Yardley, Birmingham has had its application to sell alcohol refused by the council after illicit tobacco was found on site last year. DC Supermarket on Church Road failed to provide the proper documents to convince the council that responsibility for the shop had changed hands.

In August 2021, a Mr Sheikehpour had been the licence holder at DC Supermarket, but his licence was revoked after illicit tobacco products were found on the premises. Earlier this week, the council met to discuss a new alcohol application from Abubakr Sharifnejad.

Mr Sharifnejad claimed he had entered a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with Mr Sheikehpour and was in the process of buying the business. Birmingham City Council’s decision notes that members were ‘particularly worried’ by this arrangement and said it could not be taken on trust that Mr Sheikehpour was not still involved.

DC Supermarket markets itself as an off-licence and mini market with Eastern European food and drink, stocking products from Poland, Lithuania, Russia and Romania.

Police remarked on the ‘air of ambiguity’ around Mr Sheikehpour’s application and said he needed to be completely separate from the previous owner. However, he was unable to provide proper documents to prove this, thus police deeming the application ‘completely unsatisfactory’.

Seeking permission to serve alcohol between 8am and 11pm, DC Supermarket was refused outright by Birmingham City Council, which cited the prevention of crime and disorder as its rationale.

The council’s sub-committee decision notice reads: “Those making representations had recommended that refusal was the only correct course. The sub-committee gave consideration to whether any measures could be taken to ensure that the licensing objectives were adequately promoted and that therefore the licence might be granted.

“However, in response to a direct question from the members, the police had advised that the licence could not be appropriately conditioned either (with a provision to exclude Mr Sheikehpour), as the documents supplied had not been satisfactory. The Sub-Committee, therefore, resolved to refuse the application.”