The Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider a premises licence application. The agenda included an application from Sainsbury's for a new premises licence, as well as standard business such as the election of a chair.

Sainsbury's, 1 Walworth Road

The sub-committee were scheduled to consider an application made by Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd for a premises licence to be granted under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises at Sainsbury's, 1 Walworth Road London SE17 1GA.

The public reports pack stated that the application was for a premises licence and had been submitted under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003¹. The application was subject to outstanding representations from four other persons and was therefore referred to the licensing sub-committee for determination.

Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd applied to the council for a premises licence to be granted under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises at 1 Walworth Road. The hours applied for were:

• The sale by retail of alcohol (off sales only): Monday to Sunday 07:00 to 23:00
• Opening hours: Monday to Sunday: 24 hours a day.

The premises were described in the application as a convenience store.

The proposed designated premises supervisor (DPS) was Joanne Surguy, who holds a personal licence with the London Borough of Bexley.

Representations

The Metropolitan Police Service (Licensing Division) initially made a representation in their role as a responsible authority, but this was withdrawn after additional conditions were agreed.

Representations from other persons were initially rejected as they focused on loss of social amenities or a high concentration of similarly licensed premises. However, the representations also cited potential issues around public nuisance and safety. It was stated that alcohol sales from early morning until late evening could increase antisocial behaviour, noise, and litter in the area, and that alcohol availability can correlate with street drinking and related risk and disturbances.

One representation stated that the site is currently a cafe and community space, and that replacing it with a supermarket selling alcohol would have a negative impact on the area.

Another representation stated that the area is already very well served by supermarkets and convenience stores selling alcohol, and that adding another licensed Sainsbury's so close to existing sites creates unnecessary duplication. They also raised concerns about the impact on local independent businesses.

A further representation raised concerns that low-cost alcohol late into the evening will encourage street drinking, noise and anti-social behaviour.

Licensing Policy

The public reports pack included a summary of Southwark Council's statement of licensing policy 2021- 2026, which came into effect on 1 January 2021. Sections of the statement considered to be of particular relevance to the sub-committee's consideration were:

• Section 3, Purpose and scope of the policy, reinforcing the four licensing objectives² and the fundamental principles upon which this authority relies in determining licence applications.
• Section 5, Determining applications for premises licenses and club premises certificates, explaining how the policy works and considers issues such as location; high standards of management; and the principles behind condition setting.
• Section 6, Local cumulative impact policies, setting out this authority's approach to cumulative impact and defines the boundaries of the current special policy areas and the classifications of premises to which they apply.
• Section 7, Hours of operation, providing a guide to the hours of licensed operation that this Authority might consider appropriate by type of premises and (planning) area classification.
• Sections 8-11, providing general guidance on the promotion of each of the four licensing objectives.

The premises is located outside of a cumulative impact area³. The recommended closing hours for off-licenses under the statement of licensing policy for that location is daily: 00:00.

Existing Licence

The public reports pack noted that there was already a premises licence in place at this unit address, known as EPK Social / MM Factory, a mixed use café space.