South Kesteven District Council rejects alcohol licence as Lincolnshire Police remain concerned over underage sales
An application for a convenience store to sell alcohol has been rejected.
Councillors at South Kesteven District Council decided to throw out the proposal for Ramin Off Licence on Wharf Road, Grantham, following concerns from Lincolnshire Police that the applicant was unable to prove that all the licensing conditions would be followed.
Councillors considered the application at the Alcohol, Entertainment and Late-Night Refreshment Committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday, July 8).
The applicant had sought for the sale of alcohol off-premises between Monday and Sunday, from 7am to 11pm.
It also sought for the opening hours to be 7am to 11pm Monday to Sunday. This follows several other previous rejections.
A previous Max Off Licence was revoked by the district council on June 16, 2023, following evidence from Lincolnshire Police that the store had been selling alcohol to underage people and not complying with its licence conditions.
At the time, the licensing committee stated that the applicant had been unable to prove they were an appropriate person to hold the licence. The applicant appealed this decision but this was rejected on May 30, 2024.
On December 6, 2024, an application was lodged by Ramyar Sabah Salih but this was refused by the licensing committee. A consultation took place between May 19 and June 16 this year.
During the consultation, Lincolnshire Police raised concerns about the management experience and that the applicant was unable to dispute claims the previous licence holder was still involved in the running of the business.
Lincolnshire Police officers have argued Ramin Off Licence Ltd has failed to put in adequate measures and had no mitigation for increasing its off-licence hours.
The force said that officers had previously inspected the store under its previous licence and had found evidence that alcohol was being served to underage people and there wasn't evidence that the Challenge 25 policy was being enforced.
Sergeant Amy Adams said: "We have heard today that everything has changed into Mr Salih's hands but we have no evidence that this is the case. He also hasn't provided any evidence that he is a responsible business owner. We still cannot be confident that the previous is still not behind the licence."
Sgt Adams said the police weren't confident that the licence would be fully followed. She said: "Lincolnshire Police believes that if the licence was granted, the conditions of the licence would be undermined."
Nawaz Anwar stood in to represent applicant Ramyar Sabah Salih and said that they would take on board the recommendations.
She said: "Once the premise is opened, we will make sure measures are put in place to make sure all objectives are met.
"The previous licence holder and the current holder have no connection to each other."
But Sgt Adams said she still wasn’t convinced all the ‘conditions’ would be followed.
She said: "We feel that given the poor history of selling illegal vapes and alcohol to children, we must be satisfied that all of the licence conditions will be followed. We do not feel that this will be the case."
Councillors decided to refuse the application because of concerns around the connection of the previous license holder and the current applicant as well as concerns that the licence conditions wouldn’t be followed.
The council also considered guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and its own licensing policy.