Hull: Alcohol licensing process

Message from Humberside Police:-

Inspector Kirsty Tock of the Community Safety Unit said: “I want to take this opportunity to offer some clarification around the alcohol licensing review process following reports in the media in relation to Heron on Newland Avenue in Hull.

“When a premises applies for a license to sell alcohol it goes to a licensing committee, consisting of local councillors, to decide whether or not a license is granted.

“In each case the police, along with other agencies including Hull City Council Licensing Department, Trading Standards and Planning, make representations. Members of the public, residents associations, shop watch schemes and business owners are also entitled to attend and make a representation, should they wish to.

“Our representations are required to be evidence based including details of reported offences at the premises as well as offences relating to the person applying for the license. 

“As there were very little reported offences at this shop or offences relating to the business owner, we also looked at other Heron stores in our area that are already selling alcohol, to ensure that our representation included all the evidence available to us.

“This formed part of our representation highlighting that, as a company, they are responsible in the sale of alcohol and have policies to ensure the sale of alcohol does not have a negative impact on the local community.

“We are aware of reported concerns about issues in Newland Avenue and a Cumulative Impact Assessment has been carried out by the police so that the licensing committee have oversight of reports in the surrounding area. We have also applied for a Community Impact Zone which will help regulate the sale of alcohol in the area.

“Where there is evidence of offences linked to a specific premises or business owner we do put this forward for consideration and we have had recent cases where licenses have been refused as a result of this.

“Two new alcohol licensing applications on Beverley Road and Newland Avenue, Hull have been rejected since August 2019 based on evidence supplied by the police and other agencies. We have also recently closed two more premises on Beverley Road, using closure orders via the courts.

“There is a real strong community feel on Newland Avenue and we are passionate about making sure that we work with businesses and residents to ensure that that remains the case.”