A new shop in a part of Leigh town centre which police say has reached a "tipping point" in relation to alcohol-related crime will not be allowed to sell booze.
International Food Store in Railway Road has been refused a licence to supply alcohol at the premises, which was last used as a barber shop and tattoo studio.
It comes after Wigan council revealed 128 alcohol-related crimes were committed in the area, 81 of which were assaults, in the year ending 2019. That is a rise of 76 pc compared to four years earlier.
The new shop said it would not sell single cans or any beers with an alcohol-by-volume (ABV) above 5 pc and spirits would be stored behind the counter.
The small store also agreed to limit the hours it sells alcohol to 9am until 8pm.
But licensing boss Julie Middlehurst said making alcohol more readily available in the area would only add to the problem.
She said: "We cannot identify particular premises that are causing the problem. We don’t always know why the problems are occurring in a given area. We just know that they are.
"We can’t always attribute an assault that may have taken place in a residential property to any given premises.
“What we do know is that Leigh does have a problem with alcohol-related issues."
Leigh and Wigan town centres are designated by the local authority as "cumulative impact zones" which means there is evidence that the number, type and density of premises selling alcohol in those areas, such as bars, pubs and off-licences lead to serious problems of nuisance or crime and disorder.
For this reason anyone applying for a licence is expected to show that the operation of the premises will not add to the cumulative impact in the area.
Nick Semper, from Licensing Guys, represented applicant Haval Hussein Abdulqadir at the licensing sub-committee meeting on Wednesday.
He said: “It’s not the availability of alcohol that causes problems. It’s predominantly that if alcohol is retailed irresponsibly – wrong times, the wrong strengths to the wrong people, to people who already have a drink problem, to youngsters. That’s when you get the cumulative impact.
"We maintain that we have considered the implications of cumulative impact and we maintain that we have offered you a raft of conditions and reduced hours in which you can have confidence that it is unlikely that this little premises will add to the cumulative impact already experienced in Leigh.”
The number of alcohol-related crimes and anti-social behaviour in the area has increased since the cumulative impact policy (CIP) was introduced in 2016.
Mr Semper said this may be due to better reporting within the police.
But PC Clive Rigby told the licensing sub-committee that it is the "strong opinion" of Greater Manchester Police that the licence should not be granted.
He said: “The data speaks for itself. The CIP has been successful in many ways with other measures in place, but the figures continue to rise in relation to alcohol-related crime and disorder and public nuisance.
“I believe the area around this premises has reached a tipping point. The availability of alcohol is just going to add to those issues."
