The Alcohol & Gambling Licensing Sub-Committee of West Northamptonshire Council met on 7 July 2025, to consider a premises licence review application for Viva Mini Market. The sub-committee was also scheduled to discuss excluding the press and public from part of the meeting.

Premises Licence Review: Viva Mini Market

The sub-committee was scheduled to consider an application for the review of the premises licence for Viva Mini Market located at 199b Kettering Road, Northampton. The application for review was made by Police Constable Leanne Laren of Northamptonshire Police, who cited the licensing objective of the prevention of crime and disorder, and the protection of children from harm.

PC Leanne Laren, acting on behalf of the Chief Officer of Police for Northamptonshire, Mr Balhatchet, stated that the review relates to an investigation regarding the storage and sale of illicit tobacco products.

According to the application, on 12 March 2025, PC Leanne Laren and PC 773 Dave Bryan attended a Trading Standards visit at Viva Mini Market. A member of staff, identified as Mr A, stated he was renting property from an agency and showed officers a wage slip showing him being paid £7.44 an hour.

Intelligence indicated that a vehicle was being used to store cigarettes and tobacco in a neighbouring street. A blue BMW was located in Hood Street, parked and unattended. CCTV footage showed a female walking past the car, followed by a male who opened the boot and passed an object to the female. Both then walked off. The key to this vehicle was in the possession of Mr A. Trading standards officers gained entry to the BMW and located a quantity of tobacco and cigarettes in the boot. A male, Mr Ü'RI'Ð, arrived at the premises and stated that he no longer worked there.

The total amount of cigarettes seized from the vehicle was 578 packets, equating to £89248 if sold at the average price of £76. 509 pouches of hand rolling tobacco were also seized, equating to £2872 if sold at the legal average price of £38, as well as 242 illegal vapes.

PC Leanne Laren stated that cheap tobacco products with foreign language labelling undermine work to reduce health inequalities and put them in the price bracket of persons under the age of 18. She also stated that selling such goods undermines fair competition and often results in complaints from legitimate traders who are complying with the law.

The application refers to the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015, which require the removal of all promotional features from tobacco packaging. The brand name and variant name, number of cigarettes, weight of the hand'rolling tobacco product, producer details, barcode and calibration mark are permitted but must be in a standardised format, and the UK duty-paid fiscal mark must be displayed. The packaging must be a specific shape and in a certain colour, and all other colours, trademarks, logs and promotional graphics are prohibited.

The application also references the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979, which covers the offence of being in possession and selling unmarked tobacco products. Section 144 of the Licensing Act 2003 covers the keeping of smuggled goods. A packet of cigarettes or tobacco products must comply with all the labelling requirements set out in both the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

PC Leanne Laren cited Statutory section 11.27 of the Guidance that accompanies the Licensing Act 2003, which details that criminal activity should be treated particularly seriously by Committees, and that the sale and storage of smuggled tobacco and alcohol is listed. Point 11.28 details that Licensing Authorities should seriously consider revocation in the first instance when looking at matters relating to point 11.27.

PC Leanne Laren also cited R (Bassetlaw District Council) v Worksop Magistrates Court, which outlines the case that the action(s) taken by the Licensing Committee can be punitive. Where crime is involved, wider considerations come into play, including the prevention of crime and at least deterrence, if not punishment. Where premises have been used for a criminal purpose, the Licensing Authority has a duty to take steps in the interest of the wider community.

Northamptonshire Police requested that the committee consider the revocation of the premises licence in the first instance.

The report pack included a copy of the premises licence summary for Viva Mini Market, which authorises the sale by retail of alcohol for consumption off the premises only, between 7:00am and midnight, Monday to Sunday. The designated premises supervisor is Ilze Kadere, who also holds a personal licence issued by Northampton.

The licence includes mandatory conditions relating to the supply of alcohol, including age verification policies and minimum pricing. It also includes conditions from the operating schedule, such as:

• No alcohol or tobacco will ever be purchased from sellers calling at the premise, except for authorised representatives who have made prior appointments to visit the store.
• All alcohol and tobacco products sold at the premises shall have the relevant UK duty paid. Foreign tobacco, which does not comply with relevant UK legislation, shall not be stored and/or sold at the premise.
• Prior to undertaking any work at the Premises, paid or unpaid, the Premises Licence Holder shall undertake a right to work check on any prospective employee to make sure that he or she has the right to work in the UK.
• Employee training shall be repeated every six (6) months and must take place at least twice in every calendar year.
• The CCTV system must be installed and operate internally to cover all areas that licensable activities take place and where alcohol is displayed within any public area.
• An incident register of all occurrences and ejections from the premises will be maintained at the premises and all details of public order offences will be recorded and made available to all responsible authorities on request.
• A Challenge 25 proof of age scheme shall be operated at the premises.
• An incident log shall be kept at the premises, and made available on request to a Responsible Authority officer.

The report pack also included representations from local residents and businesses, including:

• The Olde England Pub, located at 199 Kettering Road, who raised concerns about the selling of illicit tobacco products, drug taking and street drinking, cars parking illegally and playing loud music, rubbish and rodent infestations, theft of electricity, and harassment of staff. They stated that Viva Mini Market has contributed to a reduced footfall to their business and failed to uphold the four licensing objectives[^1]. [^1]: The four licensing objectives are: the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; and the protection of children from harm.
• A resident of Colwyn Road, who raised concerns about waste disposal, cars parking illegally, and the storage of cigarettes in untaxed and un-MOT'd cars.
• Another local resident, who objected to the shop having its licence renewed, stating that it is not operating as a green grocer, there is an intimidating presence of people and staff outside, the shop is well known for trade in illegal cigarettes, and the obstructions of the busy road and parking of vehicles on the double yellow lines outside cause a constant safety issue to pedestrians.
• Another Colwyn Road Resident, who stated that the business has provided no positive benefits to the local community, citing potential illegal sales of goods and poor waste disposal practices.

A statement of witness was also included from Nicholas James Lenton, Trading Standards Manager at West Northamptonshire Council, who detailed the Trading Standards visit on 12 March 2025, the seizure of illegal vapes, cigarettes, and hand rolling tobacco, and the discovery of the tobacco products in the boot of the blue BMW.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The sub-committee was scheduled to consider excluding the press and public from the meeting should members decide not to make a decision in public. The recommendation was to resolve that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the item(s) of business on the grounds that, if the public and press were present, it would be likely that exempt information falling under the provisions of Schedule 12A, Part I, Paragraph(s) XXXXX would be disclosed to them, and that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.