The Licensing (2003 Act) Sub-Committee decided to amend the license for Woodgrange Supermarket at 5 Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate. The shop's license was amended to prevent the sale of beers, lagers and ciders above 6.5% ABV and a new condition was added requiring the licensee to provide invoices to council officers on request. These amendments were made in response to a review of the shop's license that was requested by the council's Licensing Enforcement Team.

Review of Woodgrange Supermarket License

The Licensing Enforcement Team requested the review of the license held by Woodgrange Supermarket on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance, the protection of children from harm, and public safety.

The Licensing Enforcement Team, the Police Licensing Team and Trading Standards all made representations in support of the review. A resident, Nessa, also wrote a letter of complaint and provided photographic evidence. Nessa was particularly concerned about the proximity of the shop to the access road for 13-15 Woodgrange Road, where she claimed that street drinkers congregate. She said that:

The reason they choose to loiter, litter, and urinate in the private land/residents area is simply because it’s convenient for them to purchase alcohol that's on special offer from 5 Woodgrange Road London E7.

Nessa also complained that the shop sold cheap, high-strength alcohol and was open until 2am, attracting street drinkers to the area at all hours.

The Council's Community Safety Enforcement Team also provided a statement about street drinking in the area. This statement included details of how many community protection warning notices, community protection notices, and fixed penalty notices had been issued, and CCTV footage of an alleyway next to the shop. The Police also provided a 'heat map' showing where crimes had been reported in the area in the previous year.

Underage Sales

Trading Standards carried out a test purchase operation at Woodgrange Supermarket on 30 June 2024. Two police cadets were able to purchase two cans of San Marino without being asked for proof of age. Trading Standards raised concerns about the shop's 'failure to implement age verification policies, inadequate staff training, and poor record keeping'.

The licensee's agent, Nigel Carter, apologised for the underage sale and explained that the member of staff who made the sale, Sunay Sadulov, had been asked to cover the till at short notice because another member of staff had gone abroad for dental treatment. He stated that Mr Sadulov had now received training from Atlas, including on Challenge 25¹, and had completed the BIIAB Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders, and had applied for a personal license.

Mr Carter also submitted training records for Mr Sadulov, the licensee, Hasan Cikla, and another member of staff, Khan Atabir.

Councillor Jane Lofthouse questioned how Mr Sadulov could have passed his personal license exam if he did not speak English. Mr Carter explained that the exams were multiple-choice and did not require him to write in English.

Street Drinking

Steve Jackson, a Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer, explained that Licensing Enforcement Team officers visited the shop on 9 July 2024 'to discuss the street drinking issues surrounding the premises'.

Whilst this was true, [officers] also found a large quantity of high-strength beers in other fridges and all around the premises on the shelves. ... The main function is clearly alcohol sales within these premises. ... [Officers] attached photos of the prices of appetizers for the high-strength beers, which seemed very low in price and is clearly attracting street drinkers to purchase alcohol from these premises.

While at the shop, officers witnessed a member of staff open a bottle of Corona and place it in a bag for a customer. Mr Jackson said this was 'a great concern' because the license only permits off-sales, meaning that alcohol must be sold in sealed containers.

Mr Carter disputed the Licensing Enforcement Team's claim that Woodgrange Supermarket was the source of most of the street drinking in the area. He said that there was 'little or no evidence' to link the shop with the problems and reminded the sub-committee that 'an honestly held belief is not evidence.'

He drew the sub-committee's attention to another nearby off-licence, Sinhalese News, which also sells high-strength beer and cider, and questioned why this shop had not been mentioned in the officers' statements. He also said that Mr Cikla 'does not ever allow street drinkers around his premises' and has started refusing to sell to them.

Councillor Winston Vaughan asked Mr Cikla:

Considering you say there's only four that really comes into your shop who are older men, I think there are more that come into your shop than just the four men. Is that-

Mr Cikla replied:

At the moment, no. And not coming to my shop, they know we don't sell and then there is no more street drinkers.

Councillor Vaughan then referred to the shop's refusals register, which she said suggested that many street drinkers had been refused service. The register covered the period from 14 August 2024, and most of the entries related to beer being requested by a street drinker. Mr Cikla explained that he had made the entries in the refusals register on behalf of his staff.

Councillor Vaughan then asked who Mr Cikla was selling the high-strength beer to, if not to street drinkers. Mr Cikla replied that 'all people' buy the strong beer.

Conditions

Mr Carter said that his client was 'truly sorry' for the underage sale and argued that revoking the license would be disproportionate. Instead, he proposed that the sub-committee add the conditions suggested by Mr Jackson regarding CCTV, Challenge 25, the refusals book, and staff training, but not the proposed conditions relating to alcohol. He asked that the sub-committee not use the review 'as an excuse to add a raft of conditions which will make it harder for [his] client to operate [a] profitable business'.

He said his client would accept a condition banning the sale of beers, lagers and ciders above 7.5% ABV, but not 6%, as proposed by Mr Jackson. He argued that a lot of people from Eastern European countries like to buy stronger beers, which are more expensive and therefore less attractive to street drinkers who 'want to drink all day. Like getting tipsy all the time'. When questioned why he would not accept 6%, Mr Carter said:

that is sold, that's what he does sell. Like I say, there's no real evidence. There's one picture of a can, blacked from cider, whether we accept it came from my client's shop or it came from another shop, but it's there. There's no other alcohol there shown in evidence that is high strength alcohol. No evidence whatsoever.

He said that a condition banning the sale of single cans or miniatures would be ineffective because people could club together to buy packs, or simply pay for a can and leave the shop with it without waiting for the sale to be completed.

He added that all the other conditions suggested by Mr Jackson were already being adhered to.