The Brent Council's Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee is scheduled to convene to consider an application for a new premises licence. The application is for a Londis store located at 152-154 Church Road, NW10 9NH. The meeting will be held in person at the Brent Civic Centre.

Here's a breakdown of the key items for discussion:

New Premises Licence Application: Londis, 152-154 Church Road

The sub-committee will consider a new premises licence application submitted by Shivanthakumar Bastianpulle for a Londis store on Church Road. The application seeks permission to sell alcohol from 10:00 to 23:00, Monday to Sunday, and to remain open from 06:00 to 23:00.

Background:

• The application falls within a Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ). According to the report pack, the council's Statement of Licensing Policy presumes that new licenses or variations that increase the scope for alcohol sales in CIZs will not be granted unless the applicant demonstrates that the licence will not negatively impact the licensing objectives¹.
• Arka Licensing Consultants is listed as the applicant's agent.

Representations:

• A representation has been received from the Licensing Officer.
• Rhea Vagarwal, Licensing Enforcement Officer, submitted a licensing representation stating that the grant of the application is likely to be detrimental to the licensing objectives.
• Ms Vagarwal notes that Willesden, where the premises is located, has been identified as a CIZ due to concerns about alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour.
• The representation highlights the presence of several existing off-licences within a short distance of the proposed Londis. These include Shop 4 You, Morgan Cash and Carry, and Sunrise Food Market.
• The representation refers to a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place across the entire borough of Brent, which makes it an offence to fail to comply with a request to cease drinking alcohol by an authorised officer.
• Ms Vagarwal expresses concern that Mr Bastianpulle, the applicant, may not be fully aware of the area's status as an Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) hotspot.
• The Licensing Enforcement Officer notes that Mr Bastianpulle also holds a licence for Shop 4 You, located nearby at 148 Church Road.
• The Licensing Police visited Shop 4 You on 29 November 2025, and found that Mr Bastianpulle was in breach of condition 4 of the premises licence, which requires A personal licence holder fluent in English shall be present on the premises and supervise the sale of alcohol throughout the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol.
• Ms Vagarwal summarises that the business plan fails to demonstrate that granting this application would avoid negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives and to the contrary, add to the issues of an existing saturated area.
• Ms Vagarwal suggests a number of conditions that could be added to the premises licence, should the sub-committee decide that there is sufficient evidence to grant the application.

Applicant's Proposed Measures:

• The applicant states that the Londis supermarket will be an upmarket store with quality products and that there is local demand for a reputable store where residents can shop safely.

• The applicant proposes a number of controls on alcohol sales, including:

  • A till prompt system to remind staff to check ID.
  • Sale of alcohol only in sealed containers for off-premises consumption.
  • Restrictions on the alcohol by volume (ABV) of beers, lagers, stout and ciders sold (not exceeding 6%).
  • No sales of single cans or bottles of beer, lager, stout and cider.
  • Spirits not to be sold in bottles less than 35cl.
  • Screening off alcohol outside of sale hours.

• The applicant proposes a robust operating schedule including:

  • CCTV system with 24-hour recording and storage of recordings for a minimum of 31 days.
  • Challenge 25 policy.
  • Staff training on age-restricted products, proxy sales, and licensing hours and conditions.
  • A refusals book to record refused sales of age-restricted products.
  • An incident book to record details of all incidents.
  • Due diligence checks for alcohol deliveries to ensure customers are over 18.

Licensing Objectives:

• The report pack includes a business plan from the applicant addressing the licensing objectives.

Other Items

• The agenda includes items for apologies for absence and declarations of interest from committee members.