An application for a convenience store to sell booze has faced objections over concerns it will worsen crime in the area and add pressure to emergency services, stated reports on Thursday (20).
As per local reports, Muhammad Tayyeb Butt has submitted an application to enable his new store, Teesside Grocers Ltd to sell alcohol from 7am to 10pm every day. However, concerns have been raised about his application owing to the risk of increasing the town’s alcohol-related issues, in an area where levels of anti-social behaviour are already high.
“As evidenced by the need for Cumulative Impact policies, Middlesbrough already suffers from high levels of alcohol-related crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour,” reports quoted Cleveland Police's Chief Constable, Police Constable Jason Arbuckle, as saying.
“Cleveland Police are firmly of the belief that another off licensed premise will only exacerbate existing problems, by making alcohol more readily available to persons who have already partaken in alcohol and the vulnerable, this is particularly concerning considering more and more people are consuming alcohol at home.”
The council’s licensing policy states that applications for licences in these areas “will normally be refused or subject to certain limitations, following relevant representations, unless the applicant can demonstrate in the operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives”.
On behalf of the director of public health, a public health officer also raised concerns that another off-licence could put extra pressure on the health service.
“Allowing another alcohol premises to operate between the hours of 7am - 10pm daily makes alcohol more readily available and will not only exacerbate some of the alcohol-related issues already experienced in Middlesbrough but will also add unnecessary pressures to our emergency services including NHS Accident and Emergency departments, ambulance services, and the police,” reports quoted Faith Helyer, a public health officer, as saying.
Both the public health official and Cleveland Police said that the owner was difficult to reach to discuss the application, reports said.
Grocers must focus on their price positioning to remain competitive as food and grocery spending in UK convenience stores is projected to outpace the hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discounters channel.
According to GlobalData, food and grocery spending in convenience stores is projected to reach £43.2 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.0 per cent between 2024 and 2028.
Between 2023 and 2024, the traditional big four grocers, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA, and Morrisons, collectively added 800 new convenience stores to their portfolios, with ASDA and Morrisons leading the growth with acquisitions. This rapid expansion underscores increasing competition in the convenience market.
After successfully focusing on price in large format stores to appeal to consumers during the cost-of-living crisis, grocers must shift their focus on agile pricing to convenience locations.
Sainsbury’s and Tesco are notable examples within convenience, with Sainsbury's recently introducing Aldi price matching in its Local stores and Tesco announcing price reductions on over 200 products in its Express stores.
Aliyah Siddika, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments, “This replication of price focus from larger format stores to grocers’ expanding their convenience offer will encourage consumers to impulse buy due to increased affordability.
"The shift in UK consumer behaviour towards frequent top-up shopping has also created substantial growth potential in the convenience market.”
Before the pandemic, 81.6 per cent of UK consumers stated they would visit a grocer on the way home from work, and 78.4 per cent reported the same now.
Budget limitations have primarily driven this change, followed by the rise of hybrid working. Pre-pandemic, consumers working in the office full-time had less time to cook dinner after work.
However, with the shift to hybrid work models, consumers now go into the office a few times a week and are more likely to have the time to prepare meals ahead of the days they are in the office to save money.
Convenience retailers should promote low prices on their fakeaway options to entice consumers to visit on their way home from work for an affordable yet indulgent meal.
Siddika concludes,“When offering deeper price cuts in convenience formats, grocers must target price promotions towards items that consumers are more inclined to purchase during the workweek. Such as food-to-go ranges, ready meals, quick dinners, and treats to capture spending from commuters."
The upcoming “grocery tax” could hit hard-pressed Britons in the pocket, adding up to £56 annually to household shopping bills and costing families as much as £1.4 billion a year, state reports on Sunday (22) citing a recent analysis.
The scheme, known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), imposes a levy on retailers and manufacturers for the cost of collecting and disposing of packaging waste, currently funded via council tax.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Friday (20) published a series of “base fees” to indicate how much food manufacturers and retailers will be charged under the scheme when it starts next autumn.
The highest fee of £485 a tonne will be charged for plastic packaging followed by “fibre-based composite” at £455 a tonne. The levy for paper or board packaging is £215 a tonne while materials such as bamboo or hemp will be charged at £280 a tonne.
The government’s impact assessment estimates the policy will cost the industry £1.4 billion a year and will drive up prices by between £28 and £56 a year for the average household, adding 0.07 per cent to inflation as retailers pass on most of the costs to shoppers.
However, the British Retail Consortium believes the levy, officially known as the “extended producer responsibility”, will cost about £2 billion a year. If all of this were added to food bills it would drive up the average household cost by £70 a year.
The scheme is expected to come into effect shortly, coinciding with rise in employers’ national insurance contributions and the increase in the minimum wage.
The measure, intended to hit the Government’s net-zero targets, has drawn criticism for inflating food prices and creating new red tape for businesses. Critics warn the measure will increase food costs for families while creating additional bureaucracy for businesses.
In a letter sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month, the bosses of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Lidl and Aldi implored her to delay the levy.
The letter said: “For any retailer, large or small, it will not be possible to absorb such significant cost increases over such a short timescale.
"The effect will be to increase inflation, slow pay growth, cause shop closures, and reduce jobs, especially at the entry level. This will impact high streets and customers right across the country.
“We are already starting to take difficult decisions in our businesses and this will be true across the whole industry and our supply chain.”
The levy was originally conceived by Michael Gove during his time as environment secretary but, after a backlash from Tory MPs, it was put on hold.
Labour has revived the scheme since coming to power. Secondary legislation passed this month will bring the scheme into legal force on January 1, 2025, with charges due to be rolled out later that year.
Local authorities, which will receive the funds from the levy, are under no obligation to reduce council tax rates once relieved of the costs of waste collection.
Ashton Primary School in Preston has teamed up with SPAR during the season of goodwill to donate delicious food to the city’s Foxton Centre.
The school’s Year 3 class enjoyed a cookery session baking pear and chocolate crumbles to take down to the Foxton Homeless Day Centre as a pre-Christmas treat for people who access its services.
Ingredients for the crumbles were supplied by James Hall & Co. Ltd and the children also received SPAR recipe cards to recreate the recipe at home with nutritional guidance from the University of Central Lancashire’s Dietetics department.
It is the second time that Ashton Primary School and SPAR through James Hall & Co. Ltd have collaborated on a project after a Pumpkin and Carrot Soup cookery session in October.
Norman Payne, Year 3 teacher and Deputy Headteacher at Ashton Primary School, said: “This has been a heartwarming project to be part of during the festive season. Learning how to cook is a valuable life skill and I know the children enjoyed the sessions.
“We are thankful to SPAR for their support with supplying the ingredients and the recipe cards, and it was lovely to be able to visit the centre which does a wonderful job of supporting homeless people in the city.”
Wilf Whittle, Trading Controller at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “After the Halloween collaboration with Ashton Primary School, it was a lovely idea to do something a bit more indulgent around Christmas while still utilising fresh and seasonal products with the pears.
“SPAR is a community retailer and we are very happy to support initiatives like this that give something back, particularly when there is an educational element woven into the project.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
Keep ReadingShow less
(Photo credit should read Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images)
Cadbury’s has not been granted a royal warrant for the first time in 170 years after it got dropped from King Charles’s list of warrants.
Queen Victoria first awarded Cadbury with the title in 1854 which was then repeated by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1955 who was a huge lover of the chocolate.
Following the decision, the look of Cadbury products is expected to be undergoing a significant change
Cadbury told The Sun, "Yes, practically this means that we will remove the Royal Arms from all of our packaging.
"However to be clear, there will be no change to the iconic Cadbury purple which is not by Royal appointment. Cadbury purple has been used for Cadbury chocolate products for more than a century and is synonymous with the brand, this won’t change."
The reason for sudden the removal of the royal title is not known but Cadbury is not the only company to lose such an endorsement.
Another big brand missing from the list is Unilever, which manufactures goods including Marmite, Magnum ice-cream bars and Pot Noodles.
Apart from Cadbury's and Unilever, 100 other companies had their title removed by the Monarch. Luxury chocolate maker Charbonnel et Walker Ltd has also been bumped from the list since the last under Queen Elizabeth II’s name in April 2023.
Those who have lost their warrants were told of the decision by letter, but not informed of the reason.
They have 12 months to remove any royal warrant-associated branding from their items.
The King released the list of the 400 companies that received his royal warrant this year, including includes 386 companies previously holding warrants bestowed by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
These range from the official 'suppliers of Martini Vermouth', Bacardi-Martini, to Command Pest Control Ltd, Dunelm for soft furnishings, Foodspeed for milk, Kellogg's for cereals, florist Lottie Longman, and McIlhenny as the official supplier of Tabasco hot sauce.
Each warrant is granted for up to five years at a time. The king first issued warrants in 1980, when he was Prince of Wales.
Some firms gained warrants for the first time, including those connected with Queen Camilla. They include hairdresser Jo Hansford and Wartski jewellers. The latter made the king and queen’s wedding rings when they got married in April 2005.
Keep ReadingShow less
Vino Convenience Store on Metheringham High Street
A shop in a village near Lincoln has had its premises licence revoked after police discovered an illegal worker being paid below the minimum wage.
Lincolnshire Police officers urged North Kesteven District Council’s alcohol and entertainment licensing sub-committee to revoke the licence for Vino Convenience Store on Metheringham High Street during a review on Tuesday (17 December).
The committee heard that management had been “operating in such a manner that amounts to criminal activity”.
Officers first carried out a compliance check on 21 March, where they found no evidence of a written policy to prevent alcohol sales to under-18s or staff training related to that policy.
Although management claimed in an email sent on 4 April, that outstanding issues had been resolved, a follow-up visit on 10 October, revealed otherwise.
Upon entering the store, officers questioned the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), who stated she had never seen a policy or received any training and was, in fact, looking after the store “as a favour”.
Police then returned to the store a few hours later that day to find a male worker and inquired about his right-to-work status.
It then transpired that he was not allowed to work in that role and that he was paid around £600 a month with no payslip for working approximately 20 hours a week.
“Our inquiries found that he arrived in the UK under a skilled working visa in health and social care and had worked for a period of time in this field. But at the time of this encounter, he no longer worked for the sponsor and had no right to work in the shop,” a representative from the force said.
Mr Sureshkanth Arumugam took over the licence for the property in October 2023 alongside Thanusha Kaliyaperumal. Mr Arumugam is also listed as the license holder for two other businesses in the North Kesteven area – Ashgrove Convenience Store in Dorrington and Crescent Store in Leasingham.
In April 2023, officers visited the store in Dorrington, where they encountered a male behind the counter whose English was poor. Following this, checks were made with the Home Office Immigration Compliance and Enforcement team, which confirmed he was an illegal worker who could have been arrested.
This demonstrated how the illegal worker found at Vino Convenience Store was “not a one-off”.
Other issues found with the store in Metheringham included non-compliant age verification signage and alcohol seen on shelves with no price markings. Officers also insisted that “recent intelligence” has found the store is selling vapes to a 14-year-old.
Ian Holland, who attended the review in support of Mr Arumugam, stated: “I’ve known Suresh for about six years now and he’s always been an excellent man.”
He claimed that he has witnessed staff in the Leasingham store checking ID for restricted items and also highlighted how the licence holder was paying for the illegal worker’s rent and food, explaining why he was only being paid £600 a month.
Mr Arumugam claimed he believed the man had the right to work there but later admitted he had “made a mistake.” He also insisted he was “verbally training” staff in selling age-restricted items.