Thornton Heath butchers could start selling alcohol

The RB Imports Ltd shop at 1056 London Road has applied for permission to sell alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises between 10am and 10pm, seven days a week.

Its owners want to introduce a small selection of Brazilian beers and cachaça alongside its current offerings of fresh meat, frozen foods and other traditional products.

However, the premises sits within one of Croydon Council’s five Cumulative Impact Areas (CIAs), zones used where evidence shows the concentration of licensed premises is contributing to problems including crime, disorder and public nuisance.

The policy allows the council to take that cumulative impact into account when considering new licence applications in these areas.

The general presumption under the council's policy is that new applications to sell takeaway alcohol will be refused where a relevant representation has been made, though this is not an automatic ban.

Local resident Graham Mitchell stated the existence of this council policy is the grounds for his objection to the licencing application.

Mr Mitchell told councillors during a meeting on October 12: “I welcome and applaud the opening of a new independent Brazilian butchery and grocery business in Thornton Heath.

“It’s the council policy that has created my objection today. This one is a business I see as a good addition to the actual community. It’s just the off-sales element that needs to be tested.

“But the question before the committee is not whether it is a good business, it is whether the case has been made for adding another premises authorised to sell alcohol off the premises for consumption within a Cumulative Impact Area.”

Applicant Luiz Borges maintains that the sale of alcohol will remain “ancillary” to the primary sale of food.

The meeting heard that the family-run business is seeking to serve existing grocery customers, rather than attract people specifically looking for cheap alcohol.

Mr Borges said: “The majority of our shop is dedicated to food. We want to introduce a small range of Brazilian beers and Cachaça, spirits.

“We have no intention of changing our business into an alcohol focused shop, we are not an off-licence.”

The application has already been amended following discussions with the Metropolitan Police and the council’s licensing officer.

Safeguarding measures include CCTV, a Challenge 25 age-verification policy and other safeguards aimed at the responsible sale of alcohol.

Mr Borges told the meeting that his family has experience operating a similar Brazilian grocery business on Streatham High Road, where he said customers commonly purchase alcohol alongside groceries to take home.

Addressing concerns surrounding street drinking and anti-social behaviour, he said staff monitor the situation and refuse alcohol sales to intoxicated customers. He also said the business would display notices discouraging street drinking.

Mr Borges indicated the business was open to introducing further limits to address the committee's concerns, including restricting takeaway alcohol sales to customers who were also purchasing groceries.

The application was subsequently amended to make that restriction part of the proposal.

Mr Mitchell welcomed the change but remained unconvinced that sufficient grounds had been shown for making an exception to the council’s policy on new takeaway alcohol sales in the area.

He explained: “The licensing question remains whether the commercial and cultural relationship amounts to genuinely exceptional circumstances sufficient to overcome the CIA presumption.

“A product may be culturally appropriate to the business without necessarily satisfying the policy test for a new authorisation for alcohol for consumption off the premises.”

Croydon Council reviewed its five Cumulative Impact Areas earlier this year and ultimately decided all should remain in place.