Shop owner challenges restrictions limiting spirits sales to standard-size bottles  

A convenience store owner was shocked to learn that he was committed to limiting spirits sales to standard-size bottles when premium brands were often in smaller sizes.

Joseph Pdeen is in the process of opening Harvest, in Church Road, Hove, and wants to sell alcohol from 8am to 5am daily.

The premises currently has a late-night refreshment licence which permits the sale of food, hot drinks and soft drinks until 5am.

Mr Pdeen told a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel that he would surrender this valuable licence if he was granted a late-night alcohol licence.

The panel was told that the restriction on sales of miniature bottles of spirits had been agreed with Sussex Police which did not object to the application.

But Mr Pdeen, who has three other off-licence businesses, told the virtual meeting on Thursday 8 June that the restriction agreed with Sussex Police prevented him from selling bottles smaller than 70cl.

He was told that he could make a separate application to vary his licence if the restriction prevented him from selling, for example, 50cl bottles of premium brands such as Brighton Gin.

Restrictions agreed with Sussex Police also included no strong beers or ciders with more than 5.5 per cent ABV.

Sussex Police also asked that no more than 15 per cent of the shop’s floor space be used for alcohol and that no promotional advertising for drink be visible from the street.

The licensing panel was made up of three councillors – Andrei Czolak, Paul Nann and Kerry Pickett.

Councillor Pickett asked if Mr Pdeen would agree to reduce the amount of floor space occupied by alcohol and he agreed to 10 per cent.

Church Road is in one of the busier parts of Brighton and Hove where the council operates tougher licensing rules, requiring a business seeking a new drinks licence to show exceptional circumstances.

Mr Pdeen’s agent, Oisin Daly, reminded councillors that the premises already had a late-night licence, albeit not for alcohol.