Sunderland shop refused alcohol license as owner absent from hearing

Sunderland City Council’s licensing sub-committee met on Thursday to discuss the application for 2 Eden Terrace, a property previously used as food store Haat Bazar Ltd.

Applicant Lojan Ramesh wanted permission for a planned new convenience store at the site to be able to sell booze between 8am-11pm.

Information from the applicant in council reports said “alcohol is not the intended focus of the business” and that alcohol sales would have a “limited impact on the area.”

The application went before the council’s licensing sub-committee on April 9 after dozens of public objections were submitted, raising concerns about antisocial behaviour near the site, parking, littering and fly-tipping.

Initial proposals sought permission to sell alcohol for longer hours, but this was altered to 8am-11pm, seven days a week, following talks with Northumbria Police and the council.

Thursday’s City Hall meeting to decide the application was attended by Barnes ward councillors Antony Mullen and Fiona Tobin.

As there was no representation from the applicant, the licensing sub-committee were told they had several options in the circumstances.

These included either refusing the application, adjourning a decision, or only hearing evidence from council licensing officers and objectors before making a decision. 

A legal adviser for the committee said there were concerns about the third option in terms of conducting a “fair hearing”, and it was noted that the refusal option would allow the applicant the right of appeal, or the chance to resubmit the application.

A committee report also noted the matter had been adjourned before at a separate meeting earlier this year, with a decision “postponed” because the applicant was unable to attend due to “ill health.”

Following deliberations, the licensing sub-committee agreed to refuse the application “on the basis of the absence of the applicant”.

Councillor Michael Hartnack, presenting the committee’s decision, said this was “a consequence of their failure to attend or give reasons for their failure to attend but also to give the opportunity to present their application at some point in the future”.

It was noted that if the applicant wanted to reapply for the alcohol licence, the licensing process would start again and public objections would need to be resubmitted.