Off-licence's Licence is Revoked
An off-licence long-known for causing problems of crime and disorder, public nuisance, under-age sales of alcoholic drinks, groups of youths gathering in and around the shop, and alleged drug dealing, has had its locence revoked.
Local ward councillors in Rochester South and Horsted have been aware of these issues for some time, and have been quietly feeding-in information to the relevant authorities, but took no active part in the decision to avoid any possible claims of prejudicial interest. We wanted a clean decision that would be most likely to be upheld in case of an appeal!
This decision, taken by Medway Council's Licensing Panel this month with considerable input from the police and other witnesses, is very good news. It should solve many of the problems in the area, and also send a signal to any other similar premises who might be engaged in such activities, or even encouraging or failing to deal with such issues, as they are required to do under the terms of their licences.
A planning application has now been submitted to convert the shop into a flat, which—if approved—will mean that the shop will no doubt close completely.