Tesco has applied for an alcohol licence for a new Express store planned for The Quadrant in Richmond town centre, next to Richmond Station. The store would sell alcohol from 6am to 11pm every day, pending approval from Richmond Council. The new branch would replace the Amazon Fresh store that closed at the site last year.
The application has drawn objections from the Richmond Society and Friends of Richmond Green, as the site falls within a cumulative impact zone (CIZ). In such areas, there is already a high density of licensed venues, and the council's policy states that applications should be refused if they are likely to add to existing problems.
Residents' groups raise anti-social behaviour concerns
Peter Willan, representing the residents' groups, spoke at the council's licensing hearing on September 4. He told the committee that Richmond town centre has "major issues with anti-social behaviour" and that police resources are insufficient to tackle them. He added: "We're not against people enjoying themselves and that means consuming alcohol. It's just when we have excesses, and that's the problem we face."
On behalf of the groups, Mr Willan requested that the store's hours be reduced to 7am to 10pm daily. However, the application has not received any objections from authorities, and proposed licence conditions include keeping an incident log, maintaining CCTV, and training staff.
Tesco defends application as responsible
Solicitor Jeremy Bark, representing Tesco, argued that granting the licence would not breach Richmond's cumulative impact policy, as most sales would be food. He told the hearing that Tesco is a "very responsible operator" and already runs roughly 20 stores in the borough. Mr Bark said: "We think this is a well-thought-out application. We like to think we know the area well. We don't cause existing problems. There's no suggestion, I think, that we will do here."
The licensing committee is expected to publish its decision on the plans in the coming days. If approved, the store would operate daily from 6am to 11pm, selling alcohol alongside groceries, and would become the latest addition to Tesco's presence in the borough.
