A West London shop has had its application to sell alcohol rejected due to concerns about street drinking in the area.

The Corner Shop (Singh's Superstore) on 6 Beaconsfield Road in Southall, whose sign already states it sells beers and spirits, sought permission to sell alcohol between 8am and 11pm Monday to Saturday and between 10am and 10.30pm on Sundays. However, during the licensing hearing on Wednesday (October 21), the applicant, Mr Sukhpal Singh Chopra, offered to reduce the hours alcohol would be sold.

This proved to be a point of contention between the store and Ealing Council officers who raised concerns about the sale of alcohol at early morning hours when children are going to the nearby school.

The committee chair and councillor for Perivale, Munir Ahmed, asked Mr Singh Chopra: "When you put the application, you applied for hours starting [at] 8 o'clock to sell alcohol. So the question we are asking is that if you are a responsible person, if you have that in mind that this is a special policy area, then why did you not think that 8 o'clock is too early, and there are schools, there are offices, this was not a good thing… why did that not come to your mind?"

In response, Mr Singh Chopra reaffirmed his offer to change these hours. During the meeting, he told councillors that business costs are increasing so substantially he cannot afford to hire any staff beyond his brother to run the shop.

He argued that the sale of alcohol would support his business and improve its prospects. However, councillors reaffirmed that this is not something which can be taken into consideration when determining a licensing application.

The premises is located within the Southall Special Policy Area (SPA), where there is a policy presumption against applications which are likely to add to the cumulative impact of issues such as street drinking – unless the applicant can demonstrate that the premises would not exacerbate such problems. However, Mr Singh Chopra failed to convince councillors this would be the case.

Evidence given by the Metropolitan Police held significant weight in the outcome of the committee. In a written statement, PC Anu Mittu said: "The reason why an SPA was introduced was because it was recognised the serious public nuisance, crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour that was generated and fuelled by the presence of alcohol being readily available from licenced premises…

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"Southall is known to be a problematic area for street drinking and there has been an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour, with individuals loitering on the streets and drinking alcohol. This in turn leads to urinating in the street, littering and making members of the public feel unsafe when walking by them – particularly women and children as well as vulnerable adults.

"There are also assaults that occur between these drunk individuals which give a general feeling of the area being unsafe as this location appears to be a magnet for anti-social behaviour and crime and disorder, but also people with substance abuse issues.

"The individuals, who are often in groups, usually arrive with alcohol, which is shop bought cider, beer, lager and spirits and they drink throughout the day. This usually ends up with drunk, intoxicated individuals passing out on benches where available, side streets, car parks, parks and alleyways."

Returning the decision, Cllr Munir Ahmed said: "Although the applicant acknowledged the reasons for this special policy area, his answers did not sufficiently explain how the proposed operation would address those particular concerns or demonstrate adequate practical arrangements to avoid adding negatively to existing cumulative impact."

He added that the committee considered whether conditions offered by Mr Singh Chopra would enable the granting of a licence, however the councillors determined that it would not, and if approved would add to the cumulative impact of a concentration of off-licences in the area.