News

Source - The Herald 18/05/11

A major supermarket chain has been barred from boosting drink sales in a landmark ruling by Scottish local authority officials.

West Dunbartonshire Council has become the first administration in Scotland to actively inhibit pubs, clubs or off-sales within its borders on the grounds it is already at saturation point with premises selling alcohol.

The authority denied supermarket chain Lidl permission to increase its alcohol floor space, claiming it would do little more than add to the area’s chronic problems with drink.

The discount chain had been seeking to increase its area by less than 10 square metres in a store in Clydebank.

However, West Dunbartonshire’s licensing board took the view that Lidl’s bid did not demonstrate any benefits to the area.

The move comes almost six months after the area declared that it would knock back any fresh applications for liquor licences, a ruling that effectively prevents any new supermarkets setting up in large towns such as Clydebank or Dumbarton, or tourism outlets along the southern shores of Loch Lomond from selling alcohol.

More than one in 20 of the area’s 90,000 residents are said to be alcohol-dependent – one of the highest figures in western Europe – and, according to the council, it has the second-highest number of licensed premises per head in Scotland.

Although all other licensing board areas are now required to have a position on overprovision, none has taken the blanket approach which West Dunbartonshire has adopted.

Glasgow has identified several areas which it believes are over-provided for, including Byres Road, other parts of the west end and city centre, and out-lying districts such as Shettleston and Shawlands.

Andrew Fraser, the council’s head of legal, administrative and regulatory services, said: “The licensing board took the view that the applicants had not demonstrated that there were any benefits to the licensing objectives enshrined in the Act (crime and disorder, public nuisance, public heath, public safety and protecting children) which outweighed the board’s overprovision policy.

“There is clear evidence that alcohol-related health problems are driven by both the availability and price of alcohol.

“While much of the focus has understandably been on minimum pricing, an overprovision policy is one of the few tools available to control the availability of alcohol.


“West Dunbartonshire Licensing Board is, so far, the only one in Scotland to have used these powers to address the health impacts on its community.

“The extensive analysis carried out in West Dunbartonshire into the health and crime-related problems stemming from alcohol demonstrates the extent of the problems facing our communities and provides a template for using these powers. It also helps raise an awareness among the whole population of the problems we face.”