The owner of Naz Supermarket in Station Road had initially sought to sell alcohol from 5am, but was met with pushback from Waltham Forest councillors and residents, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
An off-licence in Chingford has been granted permission to sell alcohol earlier in the morning.
Owner Mohammed Naz successfully applied to open Naz Supermarket, 23 Station Road, at 5am and sell alcohol between 7am and 11pm.
The shop is currently open between 8am and midnight in the week, and closes at 1am on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Under the new timetable, it will shut every day at 12am.
Mohammed said he wanted to open earlier to cater for older customers buying newspapers and workers picking up sandwiches and coffees.
He had initially sought to sell alcohol from 5am, but was met with pushback from Waltham Forest councillors and residents.
Chingford councillors Kay Isa, Sazimet Palta-Imre and Mitchell Goldie formally objected to the scheme, arguing it could “exacerbate” existing issues with crime and “intensify” street drinking.
In a letter to the council’s licensing team, they also warned it could create a “dangerous precedent” and encourage other shops to sell alcohol from the early hours.
One resident said that selling alcohol from 5am “must be some sort of typo,” adding: “No one other than problem and anti-social drinkers need to be purchasing alcohol at 5am.”
There is no generally applied limit on when off-licences can begin selling alcohol in England. With the appropriate permission, some shops can sell alcohol 24 hours a day.
Mohammed revised the hours after discussions with the Metropolitan Police and Waltham Forest Council’s licensing department, prompting Cllr Goldie to withdraw his objection.
Prior to today’s licensing hearing (12th November), the shop owner agreed a series of licensing conditions with the Metropolitan Police.
A CCTV system will need to be in operation at all hours and customers who look younger than 25 will need to provide ID to buy alcohol, as per the nationwide Challenge 25 scheme.
Additionally, the Station Road store will not be allowed to sell lagers, ciders and beers with a higher ABV than 6%.
Mohammed said alcohol is also stored in its own sealed room, behind a button-operated door, that was referred to as a “beer cave”. He said it prevented thefts and kept the drinks separate from other products.
The licence was the second granted by the committee today.
The three Labour councillors also approved a new off-licence in Fulbourne Road, Walthamstow, despite more than 20 objections by residents.
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations
