Charlton matchday booze sales another bone of contention as post office seeks alcohol licence

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to sell booze at a Charlton post office have been criticised by residents, who claim the area is already a ‘hotspot for antisocial behaviour’.

And because of its proximity to Charlton Athletic Football Club, fears are that alcohol sales would get out of hand on match days.

Charlton Traders Limited has applied to sell alcohol at the post office in Charlton Church Lane between 10am and 10pm six-days-a-week and until 8pm on Sundays.

The topic was discussed at a licensing meeting for Greenwich council on Monday. Labour councillor Jo van den Broek, who represents the Charlton Village and Riverside ward, claimed at the meeting that the area around the post office was already ‘problematic’ regarding antisocial behaviour arising from alcohol sales.

The councillor said: “The area around Charlton station [and the post office] is an absolute hotspot for antisocial behaviour, particularly on match days, and an additional place selling alcohol can only add fuel to that problem.”

Cllr van den Broek had also noted the proposal was similar to a previous application to open a convenience store at the post office that was refused by the council in April this year.

A trading standards officer claimed that the applicant for the last proposal, Akmal Hussain, had overseen the sale of a vape to a 14-year-old during a test purchase at another shop on Charlton Church Lane in January this year.

Roy Light, speaking as the legal representative for the applicant, said at the meeting that the new plans were significantly different to the previous application. He added that new evidence had suggested Mr Hussain was not responsible for the underage sale that took place in January.

Local resident Brenda Taggart said that the current applicant, Faizan Arif, was considered to be very well respected in the Charlton community. However, she said she was still worried about the potential for future underage sales at the post office given the trading standards officer’s claims about Mr Hussain’s conduct.

She said at the meeting: “That shop has had a reputation for underage sales, which is still giving [the new owner] some problems. So during the time when Mr Hussain was there in a quasi-managerial position, that shop had a fantastic reputation for selling underage goods.”

Mr Light said a letter from J Stifford Solicitors had confirmed that Mr Hussain was not present at the shop during the time of the test purchase in January.

He claimed that the National Lottery had conducted a test purchase at Charlton Post Office on August 5 during which Mr Hussain correctly asked for proof of age during the sale and refused the transaction.

Mr Light added that Mr Arif would be willing to pause alcohol sales from the post office during match hours for the nearby Charlton Athletic club to address anti-social behaviour concerns.

The application on whether to allow alcohol to be sold at Charlton Post Office will be considered by the licensing sub-committee. A decision notice will be issued on the application in the next five working days.

Pictured top: The post office is based beside Charlton railway station (Picture: Greenwich council)