Licensing Application for Costcutter, 185 Beckenham Rd

[Cllr John Getgood, Penge & Cator ward]

A Bromley licensing committee on Wednesday agreed hours for the sale of alcohol between 8 am and 11 pm. The owner reduced the hours applied for as a result of the representations made by local residents and councillors. He wants to be a good neighbour. There were no objections from the police. There were a number of conditions attached. In particular, he will install CCTV to police standards and will adopt a policy of challenging anyone who looks under the age of 25 for identification to prove their age.

The Licensing Committee reminded those at the hearing that they were only able to discuss the Licensing aspect of the supermarket. However, I did ask the owner about the number of parking spaces which he had reduced form 6 to 3. He confirmed that he had not realised the significance of this and will be reinstating the lost spaces.

The law does not allow a presumption that a premise will cause a nuisance. However, there are strong powers of recall for a licence holder if the law is subsequently broken.

Cllr John Getgood
Penge & Cator

[Reg Adams]

CostCutter's will actually be able to sell alcohol up until 00:00 (midnight). That was the published Decision of the Licensing Panel after the 21 October hearing. I was surprised about this because in their revised application CostCutter's indicated 23:00 as their intended stop-time. But I have checked with the Licensing Officer, who confirmed that the Panel granted them an extra hour.

Once CostCutter's is up and running any local resident, local business or "responsible authority" (e.g. Councillor, Police Safer Neighbourhood Team, Head Teacher, etc.) can call for a Review of the licence terms at any time. The Review must be based on one or more of four objectives:
# Prevention of crime & disorder
# Prevention of public nuisance
# Public safety
# Protection children from harm
So, report any incidents that you spot which can be associated with the sale of alcohol at CostCutter's including:
# Anti-social behaviour in the area
# Under-age drinking
Having said all this, it seems that the retailer wants to be a good neighbour, promising to install CCTV and checking for proof of age where appropriate. Let's hope they do indeed prove to be a responsible neighbour, providing a useful service with minimal disruption.

[Cllr John Getgood, Penge & Cator ward]

Reg Adams said:

CostCutter's will actually be able to sell alcohol up until 00:00 (midnight). That was the published Decision of the Licensing Panel after the 21 October hearing.

Those of us that were at the meeting are convinced that the decision on the day was 11.00 pm. Licensing have been informed. Perhaps there was a drafting error. Hopefully, it can be rectified.

Cllr John Getgood
Penge & Cator