An Old Street supermarket caught with the borough’s largest stash of illegal booze has been given back its license – despite the council’s supposed crackdown on alcohol sellers in crime hotspots.
Islington’s “saturation zone” policy, which came into force on 1 February, was created to make it virtually impossible for new businesses to sell alcohol in areas with lots of off-licenses and bars.
But on Tuesday a committee granted Day ‘n’ Night – based on Old Street, in the middle of one zone – a licence to sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm seven days a week.
It was forced to give up its 24-hour license in September after it was caught with a whopping 376 bottles of illicit wine and 168 litres of vodka on the premises – the most alcohol ever seized in a raid.
Councillor Paul Convery, executive member for community safety in Islington, was shocked at the decision, having described the new policy as a “virtual ban” on new bars and off-licences.
He told Islington Now: “I am a little perplexed. It is not terribly clear why the committee decided the way it did.
“There is an excessive amount of off-licences in the Old Street area, dozens of which are in very close proximity to Day ‘n’ Night, that fuel anti-social behaviour, crime, and disorder. These problems are exactly why we adopted our new policy and made the whole of Bunhill a saturation zone.”
Bunhill ward currently has the highest rate of alcohol-related ambulance call outs, largely down to to the clubs and bars on Old Street.
After the committee meeting, Day ‘n’ Night manager Muzahir Ghalloo said: “We had hoped that we could get our licence back for 24 hours as we already had it for many years, but overall I am happy with the decision.”
