The off-licence has barely been open a few months but is already trying to extend its opening hours
The new Premier on Quay Street(Image: Alex Seabrook)
A corner shop has been blocked from staying open until 2am after police caught them breaking rules twice. The off-licence only opened in June and has already applied to Bristol City Council for permission to extend its opening hours from 11pm until 2am Monday to Saturday.
The new Premier, on Quay Street in the city centre, lies in between a former café and an electric bike shop. Twice this summer a licensing officer at Avon and Somerset Police visited the shop to check if licence conditions were being complied with, and found both times they were not.
Councillors on a licensing hearing on Thursday, September 4, heard concerns from the police about the shop. Nobody from the shop attended the hearing to give their side of the story. Councillors decided to refuse the application, so the shop must still close at 11pm.
Louise Mowbray, a police licensing officer, said: “The CCTV was found to be out by an hour. Spirits were on the shop floor and not behind the counter, as per a condition on the licence. I visited again, and again the same issues were apparent. Spirits were still on the shop floor and still the CCTV was out.
“The premises had only been open for a month and already had licence breaches. I would have liked to have hoped that a new premises licence would adhere to their conditions. I can’t get hold of the licence holder. They’ve failed to engage with us.”
The city centre is covered by a “cumulative impact area”. This makes it harder for new shops, bars or restaurants to open and sell alcohol. The police believe that because there are so many places to buy alcohol in the area already, that this adds to the chance of crime and disorder.
And any extra venue opening would add to that impact. This means that people applying for new premises licences, or extending their existing hours, have to show why councillors should make an exception.
This usually involves showing how they are running their venues responsibly, and contributing to the four licensing objectives. The four objectives are: preventing crime and disorder, preventing public nuisance, protecting children from harm, and keeping the public safe.
Conservative Councillor Richard Eddy, chair of the hearing, said: “We’re disappointed that there has been a complete lack of dialogue, and the fact that we’ve had floutings of the licence conditions in the three months that it’s been open. We have no doubt about refusing this application as it stands.”