‘Alcohol licence for shop will hurt local kids’ – warn Leeds public health officials

City councillors will decide next week whether or not Kewmars Muhamed can sell booze from his shop on Dewsbury Road in the city.

The local authority’s own public health team is lobbying against approving the licence, citing fears around the impact on local schoolchildren and their families.

The premises is technically located in Leeds’ Hunslet ward, though it sits on the edge of Beeston.

It has been operating under the trading name Park Side as an “international food” store in recent years. It’s not clear at this stage whether Mr Muhamad is the long-term occupant of that same shop, or if he is opening up a new store on the site.

But in a written objection lodged ahead of a hearing next Tuesday, Nicola Kelly-Johnson, from the council’s public health team said more alcohol sales would “add to the burden” of maintaining safety in the area.

Ms Kelly-Johnson, an advanced health improvement specialist, said: “Another off-licence on Dewsbury Road, selling low cost alcohol, will jeopardise the protection of children and young people from harm.

“The area close to the proposed convenience store has the highest number of young people not in education or employment (in Leeds).

Ms Kelly-Johnson said there was a high number of vulnerable youngsters in the Dewsbury Road area, adding, “Their life experience will undoubtably be skewed from the norm, which often results in the young person engaging in harmful behaviours, one of which is alcohol drinking.

“Furthermore, this road is a busy walking route of primary aged schoolchildren and their parents.”

Ms Kelly-Johnson also wrote that granting the licence will “further exacerbate crime and disorder in the area”.

She said: “This is backed up by statistics from Safer Leeds, which record the number of incidents of domestic violence and ranks the area as having the fifth highest (rate) in Leeds, with nine per cent of these incidents involving alcohol.”

West Yorkshire Police also raised a provisional objection against the shop having an alcohol licence, although they’ve said they will drop it if the applicant agrees to a number of conditions.

These include the use of a working CCTV system, the enforcement of the Challenge 25 system, and a cap on the strength of booze being sold.