The Licensing Sub-Committee of Ealing Council was scheduled to consider an application for a new premises licence for Northfield Food & Wine. The meeting's agenda also included procedural matters.

New Premises Licence for Northfield Food & Wine

The primary item scheduled for discussion was an application for a new premises licence for Northfield Food & Wine, located at 16 Northfield Avenue, West Ealing, W13 9RJ. The application was made by Mr Satnam Singh Khatri.

The proposed licensable activities included the supply of alcohol for off-premises consumption, with proposed hours from Monday to Thursday between 08:00 and 23:30, Friday to Saturday from 10:00 to 23:30, and on Sundays from 11:00 to 23:00. The premises' opening hours were proposed to be Monday to Sunday from 08:00 to 23:30.

The report pack indicated that one representation objecting to the application had been received from local residents in the form of a petition. This representation was made by Arulpragash Arulrajan on behalf of local residents and raised concerns regarding the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm. The residents' concerns included potential increases in anti-social behaviour, street drinking, noise disturbance, littering, and risks of underage or proxy sales, particularly given the premises' location in a predominantly residential area. They requested that if the licence were granted, strict conditions should be imposed, such as reduced hours for alcohol sales, restrictions on high-strength alcohol and single cans, and the installation of CCTV.

The report pack also detailed conditions that had been agreed between the applicant and the Walpole Residents' Association, and between the applicant and the Police. These included:

• Spirits to be kept behind the counter and not available for customer self-service.
• Alcohol to be kept behind shutters or in locked refrigerators outside licensable hours.
• No disposable cups to be kept behind the till area, and alcohol not to be decanted into them for customers to take away.
• Alcohol to be stored behind shutters when the premises are open but outside of licensed hours.

The Committee was asked to consider the application, the operating schedule, any relevant representations, and the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy¹ in respect of the proposals. The possible outcomes included granting the application as applied for, granting it with additional or modified conditions, excluding certain licensable activities, refusing to specify a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), or rejecting the application entirely.

The report pack also referred to the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy, which outlines core hours for the supply of alcohol and late-night refreshment in different areas of the borough. The premises for Northfield Food & Wine are located in a Local Neighbourhood Area, and the proposed hours for alcohol supply fall within the core hours for off-licences in such areas. The policy also details considerations for imposing licensing conditions, which must be appropriate to promote the licensing objectives and derived from relevant representations.