Licence bid by import and export business based at Wolverhampton house

SG Imports and Exports, based in Gatis Street, Whitmore Reans, has asked the council’s licensing bosses for permission to hold alcoholic drinks on site ready for collection and delivery.

The company, which specialises in providing UK-manufactured products to the food and drinks sector, as well as a variety of consumer goods, was set up by Shaun Gooden, who first began exporting music sound equipment in 2015 before expanding his business.

In his application, director Mr Gooden said: “The premises is a residential property. There is a storage room where the alcohol will be kept and a section where the packing will be completed. Once packed, this will be ready for the delivery drivers to collect from the front door.

“Alcohol cannot be purchased or consumed on the premises. The property will only be used for storage and packing to re-sell the products to businesses and end consumers.”

Initial concerns raised by licensing chiefs, environmental health and West Midlands Police have already been mediated on with the business and agreements to licensing requirements put in place.

In a letter to Mr Gooden, the city council’s section leader for licensing Amitabh Singh outlined a number of conditions which were agreed to.

He said: “Deliveries to the premises are not to be conducted between 10pm and 8am, and any vehicles engaged in the delivery of alcohol which are waiting will need to ensure their engines are switched off during the preparation of each order.

“The premises licence holder will also need to make sure that all individuals engaged in delivering alcohol to customers arrive and depart from the property and the delivery point with a minimum of noise.

“Alcohol must be delivered to either a residential or business address and not to anyone in a public place – for example a car park, street corner or bus stop. The Challenge 25 scheme needs to be operated as well, to ensure that anyone who appears to be underage will have to provide documented proof that they are over 18 years of age.

“A record of all purchases and attempted purchases needs to be kept. Orders cannot be collected from the premises, and all transactions are to be documented electronically, detailing the order number, recipient and delivery address, so that this record can be made available to any responsible authority if it is requested,” he added.

Licensing bosses are due to make a decision on the application next Thursday.