Northampton shop in '˜alcohol harm area' faces extra conditions on selling beer

The shop at 137 Kettering Road has applied for a new licence but health officers at County Hall have intervened and asked that more onerous conditions are added.

Carla Mulchrone, of Northamptonshire County Council, said: “Based on our indicators, 137 Kettering Road, Northampton, is within an area of high alcohol

harm.

“Specifically, the area falls within the top 10 per cent of all areas in Northamptonshire for alcohol harm.

“Public Health would therefore like to request that [extra] conditions be accepted by the applicant and added as conditions to the licence.”

It comes as Northamptonshire County Council’s public health team begins screening licensing applications against a series of indicators relating to alcohol harm.

The indicators used include data in relation to:

- Alcohol liaison nurse service data

- People arriving at A&E due to a recorded link to alcohol

- Violent crimes reported to the police involving alcohol or with an identified link to a licensed

premises

- Children’s social care data with alcohol misuse identified in relation to an adult in the

household

- Extent of existing licensed premises in the location of the area

The potential extra conditions for the Kettering Road shop include the stipulation that no beer, lager or cider over 6.5% ABV is sold, no single cans of alcohol is sold and a ‘Challenge 25’ age verification scheme is adopted instead of ‘Challenge 21’.

As well as these, there would be no window display posters or similar advertising containing any reference to alcohol on the premises, shop frontage, or pavement outside.

Director of public health Dr Akeem Ali said the final condition could help protect children in particular.

He said: “The ready availability of alcohol and its high profile marketing can contribute to a ‘drinking culture’ which in turn can lead to higher alcohol consumption levels.”

The licence will be determined by Northampton Borough councillors on Thursday, July 14.