The government has confirmed off-licences and shops licensed to sell alcohol have been added to its list of “essential businesses” and can remain open during…
The government has confirmed off-licences and shops licensed to sell alcohol have been added to its list of “essential businesses” and can remain open during…
Trade associations have slammed the government for forcing through a raft of changes to licensing law guidance that will embolden draconian local councils. Councils have been trying to introduce minimum unit pricing through the back door, penalise off-licences in areas where they feel binge drinking is rife and bully retailers into adopting Reducing the Strength schemes, and the trade associations feel the changes will buoy…
Six retailers have lost their licences and 10 more are under review after Newham council’s enforcement team blitzed the east London borough in a series of test purchasing stings. Volunteers were sent into 151 businesses in Stratford, West Ham, Upton Park and Plaistow at least four times during the operation. The council was cracking down on retailers selling alcohol to children, selling alcohol outside licensing…
Councils are using statistics on 999 callouts, hospital admissions and crime to ban retailers from selling alcohol in “binge-drinking hotspots”. Islington and Camden councils in London have adopted a scheme pioneered in Cardiff, and Islington has already refused 13 licensing applications and modified two others. Cllr Janet Burgess, Islington Council’s deputy leader, told OLN: “By getting this data to map hotspots we are using it…
Tesco has opened an alcohol-free convenience store in Newcastle upon Tyne after the city’s licensing boss launched a clampdown on off-licences in the area. Licensing officer Stephen Savage said Newcastle is saturated with off-licences and that the authority had decided to “take a stand” against the city’s “drink problem”. The council plan involves capping the number of drinks retailers, forcing some stores to limit the…
Suppliers have warned they may take action against councils for breaking competition law by pushing retailers to strip shelves of premium beer and cider. Nigel McNally, managing director of Brookfield Drinks, which markets 9% abv Kestrel Super lager and 7.5% Diamond White cider, said local authorities could be bankrupted by the compensation they would be forced to pay out if they lost. Hundreds of off-licences,…
Health bosses are pushing for a ban on any new off-licences bigger than 40 square metres across the Highlands. The Highlands Licensing Board is consulting on whether there is “overprovision” of alcohol in the region and the NHS wants to limit the number of off-licences. The Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership told the board in its submission that off-trade sales “account increasingly for the vast…
A whisky range from Down Under is now available to buy for the first time ever in the UK. The Overeem single malt range is made at family-run distillery Old Hobart in Tasmania, which produces just 8,000 bottles per year. In his Whisky Bible 2013, Jim Murray called it “one of the best wine cask deliveries I have tasted from the southern…
