Neighbours living next to a corner shop in Bristol open 24 hours have complained of being woken up by noisy customers “every single night”. The off licence was caught by police allegedly selling laughing gas and has now received a ban on selling booze.
New Whitehall Stores, on 342 Whitehall Road in the St George area, has faced allegations of illegally selling nitrous oxide (NOS) and Viagra. Residents of Congleton Road also alleged that the shop regularly sells alcohol to drunk people, who then drink on the street outside.
Avon and Somerset Police has persuaded Bristol City Council to revoke the shop’s premises licence. Representatives for Whitehall Stores have said a new manager is taking over, and progress is being made on issues. But during a licensing hearing, on Thursday, June 15, residents said the shop’s customers had urinated, defecated and vomited near their homes.
Read more: Bristol corner shop could face booze ban after police find laughing gas and Viagra
One nearby resident said: “I’ve seen people drunk driving to the shop, getting out, buying more booze and then driving off. I’m surprised somebody hasn’t been killed to be honest. I’ve seen young teenagers going in through the night while drinking in the park. Many occasions I’ve seen customers vomiting, or urinating on my car, my neighbour’s car, in our gardens, on residents’ walls.
“Recently at 1.20am, a car pulled up outside Congleton Road. There’s six people in the car, two leave and go to the shop, and they return with carrier bags. The car doors are wide open and music is blaring. They all start doing NOS, including the driver, and stay in the car there for 20 minutes, with full beam on.
“My young child wakes up. He then cannot go back to sleep. He’s distraught, as are we, because this happens every night I go to bed. I almost feel sick because I’m thinking what is going to happen tonight? He then can’t go to school the next day. He’s probably lost about 20 days of school in the last year, because he’s too tired to go to school, because he’s been woken up by people going to that shop.
“He has to take medication to be able to sleep, which I think is disgraceful. This is ongoing and relentless anti-social behaviour. Is his education and health less important than NOS or alcohol? The sleep deprivation and constant state of anxiety about the daily anti-social noise and behaviour are seriously affecting residents’ mental health, hence us coming together, financially, emotionally and with our time, to stand up and say: this has to stop.”
Police concerns about Whitehall Stores stretch back two years, after receiving multiple reports about laughing gas being sold. During repeated inspections, officers found thousands of pounds worth of nitrous oxide canisters in the shop and in vans parked outside. They also faced repeated problems accessing CCTV footage, which was needed to help solve several separate crimes.
Licensing officer Louise Mowbray said: “The police are concerned that nitrous oxide is being sold from the premises and there has been a failure to uphold the licensing objectives. Following a number of inspections and seizures, we have clear evidence that there is a concerning pattern of non-compliance and disregard for the promotion of the licensing objectives.”
In March this year the premises licence for the shop was transferred from Waheed Ahmed, who ran the shop since January 2021, to Noreen Ashiq. Representatives for Ms Ashiq said the transfer was to try and address the ongoing issues with the shop, and Mr Waheed would no longer have any involvement in the business — despite being friends with Ms Ashiq. But police claim this was a “calculated decision to deflect any formal action” against the shop.
Officer Mowbray added: “Noreen and Waheed are linked by connected businesses and addresses. To imply that Noreen was unaware of any issues is difficult to understand. The police do not believe that ongoing issues will be addressed. Nitrous oxide has been readily available at the premises, stored in the premises and in vehicles associated with the premises.”
Mr Waheed and Ms Ashiq “socialise together and have business connections”, according to Jeremy Woodcraft, a licensing solicitor from Keystone Law, although the former would have nothing further to do with Whitehall Stores. Since the licence transfer, the shop has also invested £5,000 in a new CCTV system, and offered to hire an SIA-accredited door supervisor, to clamp down on any anti-social behaviour.
Mr Woodcraft said: “When this business was taken over, Waheed Ahmed was known to Noreen. They’re part of the same Pakistani community, they socialise together, they’re friends and they have business connections. Mr Waheed took the premises licence on the basis that Noreen at that time didn’t have a personal licence.
“He also lived relatively close to the premises while Noreen lives on the other side of Bristol, in Avonmouth. There’s no dispute that there’s a connection between both parties. Her direct involvement with the premises decreased due to health issues. Mr Waheed feels very badly because all of this happened on his shift.”
The shop is also in the process of hiring a new manager. Adam Baker started working at Whitehall Stores at the start of May, and said he was “passionate” about turning the problems around.
Mr Baker said: “This is a really beautiful spot in a really nice place. It’s a nice residential area, flowers, people are nice. But there’s a genuine need in that area for a publicly accessible, lit, safe space that’s open at 3am. Ambulance workers can finish at 4am and buy a beer and a full salad — leaves, carrots, beetroots. The majority of our sales at night are not alcohol, the majority is food, water, other groceries.
“There is nothing within three, four miles where if you are somebody who has to be awake at 4am and you have to be outside because of economic factors or social factors or whatever it is, there’s nowhere within walking distance where you can take a break and sit down and speak to someone calmly. From a social perspective I’m very passionate about that.
“From May 1, there is no sale of NOS. I have not seen any, we do not sell any, I don’t know where they’re coming from. The noise, I can get a handle on. I can be there in the evenings, I’ve got the gift of the gab and the ability to move people along. I only saw the noise complaints myself two or three days ago. I’m willing to be there through the evening and through the night to establish a new standard going forwards.”
But the shop will now lose its licence to sell alcohol, as councillors sat on the licensing sub-committee were not convinced during the hearing that problems could be turned around. The decision was taken on Wednesday, June 21, to revoke the shop’s licence, although the business can remain open selling other items such as food and non-alcoholic drinks.
A spokesman for the licensing sub-committee said: “Over a considerable period, the residents’ lives had been made a misery from the lawless activities and anti-social behaviour associated with the premises, which were largely attributable to customers purchasing alcohol and nitrous oxide from within.
“The committee had no faith in the current management — or rather lack thereof — and there had been a blatant failure to heed to previous warnings. It was also plain that the problems had not gone away since Noreen Ashiq had taken over as the premises licence holder and designated premises supervisor.
“It was therefore considered that revocation of the licence was an appropriate and proportionate response for the promotion of the licensing objectives. This course of action would not prevent the premises from trading altogether, which could continue to provide a service to the community as a general convenience store.”
