Alcohol licence granted to Peterborough supermarket despite concerns of booze-related crime

The shop is one of more than 20 premises all with alcohol licenses in Lincoln Road in that area, and objectors protested that there was no need for another.

The owners of Europoli Supermarket, speaking through their barrister Asitha Panatunga, told Peterborough City Council’s Licensing Act 2003 Sub Committee last Friday: “Alcohol is not the primary focus of what we do here, we are specialists in Eastern European meats.

“We have undertaken today several additional conditions which we are prepared to abide by, should you grant the alcohol licence to us.”

Those conditions included no alcohol sales before noon, all spirits kept behind the till, no single sales of tins of alcohol and no alcopops.

However, as Terri Martin, licensing regulatory officer for the council, pointed out at the meeting: “There are a lot of alcohol sales points very near to the applicant, more than 20 within 200m in either direction.

“The police, and several local residents, have also raised concerns regarding alcohol-related crime which is very high in the area, as well as littering and drunken persons.”

Cllr Lynne Ayres, committee member, said: “I have looked at the additional conditions you have offered and I am very disappointed they were not in the original application, but have only appeared before us this afternoon.”

Mr Panatunga said: “My client apologises to the committee for the lateness of the additional conditions. He was not certain if they were needed or not.”

After some considerable deliberation the members returned to grant the application to the premises, with the additional conditions submitted by the applicant as well as a further condition that no alcohol was to be served unless it was with food.

In this instance confectionary was not to be considered food.