Ealing Council's Licensing Sub-Committee has granted Bajaj Food & Wine a licence to sell alcohol at 9 Kathleen Avenue in Acton, despite a resident's objections over potential antisocial behaviour and street drinking. The decision was made on Wednesday, July 8.
Operating hours and policy considerations
The off-licence will be open from 9am to 11pm Monday through Thursday, 10am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am to 11pm on Sundays. Under Ealing Council's Statement of Licensing Policy, the standard "core hours" for off-licences in Local Neighbourhood Areas end at 11:30pm on weekends. As the application exceeded these hours, the council assessed it on its own merits.
Resident's objections
Michelle Doyle submitted a written statement urging the committee to reject the application. She argued that the area is predominantly residential and already suffers from antisocial behaviour, noise, littering, and disturbance, especially during evening hours. "Granting a licence for the sale of alcohol, especially with proposed hours extending until 23:00 during the week and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, is likely to worsen these existing problems," she wrote. Doyle also highlighted concerns that late-night alcohol availability would encourage loitering, public drinking, and noise nuisance near family homes. She noted that numerous other premises in the Acton and W3 area already hold alcohol licences, including convenience stores, supermarkets, petrol stations, and dedicated off-licences.
No other objections
No other objections were raised by residents or relevant authorities, such as the Metropolitan Police.
Conditions to prevent street drinking
To mitigate crime and disorder, the applicant agreed to conditions including no stock or sale of high-strength canned beer, lager, or cider above 6.0% ABV, and no miniatures. Additionally, no disposable cups are to be kept behind the till area, and alcohol must not be decanted into cups for takeaway.
Committee decision
Councillor Pravean Anand, delivering the decision, stated: "The sub-committee considered the written objection from the interested party including concerns regarding antisocial behaviour, public nuisance, public drinking, littering, disturbance, the residential nature of the area. It is accepted that the resident had genuine concerns about the issues in the wider locality." However, the sub-committee was not satisfied that the evidence demonstrated that granting the application would likely undermine licensing objectives. It noted the premises is currently vacant, there is no evidence of poor management by the applicant, and the antisocial behaviour cited was not linked to the premises or licensing activities.
