Peterborough shop sold booze to street drinkers

Cambridgeshire Constabulary requested that a council licensing sub-committee considered revoking the licence of S&F Food and Wine at 48 Lincoln Road.

In a report put before the sub-committee when it met on August 6, it stated that authorities felt the shop was “enabling anti-social behaviour” through alcohol sales to street drinkers and intoxicated people, which had a “detrimental effect” on the quality of life for those in the local community.

The current premises licence holder of S&F Food and Wine is Roberts Zarins and the designated premises supervisor is Rita Troinikova.

The sub-committee heard how police and council licensing officers visited the premises on May 22 and intervened when they saw Ms Troinikova about to serve a man who they believed to be intoxicated.

A similar incident took place in September last year when officers saw a street drinker come in and purchase alcohol, despite a shop assistant even complaining about issues of anti-social behaviour in the area.

There were also concerns from police around underage sales at the premises in previous years.

The shop is within a public spaces protection order (PSPO) zone which is in place to reduce anti-social behaviour in the area, much of which is alcohol related.

At the licensing meeting, it was proposed that a number of conditions were added to the shop’s licence as opposed to suspension or revocation, including a reduction in the number of alcohol sales to 10 per cent of the shop’s area as well as a ban on the sale of super strength alcohol and individual vessels.

There were also conditions around the premises installing and maintaining a comprehensive CCTV system as well as keeping a log of refused sales of alcohol.

These conditions, among others, were agreed by Ms Troinikova and her husband who were in attendance at the meeting on behalf of the store.

Chair of the licensing sub-committee, Cllr Steve Allen, said: “We have heard that the licence holder feels very sorry these incidents have occurred and have tried to change things to stop contributing to the street drinking issues.”

He added: “We are sensitive to the issues within the area where the premises are situated, in particular alcohol-related anti-social behavioural crime.

“Responsible licensees should always be aware that there are consequences if the licensing laws are not adhered to.

“We take the view that revoking the licence is not appropriate in this instance.”

S&F Food and Wine has three weeks to appeal the decision.