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A Ribbleton shop has had its licence suspended for three weeks after being caught with illegal vapes on multiple occasions.
Licence holder Nitin Limbani had been accused of ignoring repeated warnings about the illicit items being stored and sold at the Go Local Extra Store in Ribbleton Ave.
The action came after the dodgy vapes were first found on sale in September 2023, with verbal and written warnings issued after more such items were found in a stock room the following month.
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Other issues found during visits by Lancashire Police and Trading Standards, including CCTV issues, a lack of required signage, unlicensed areas being used without permission, and a failure to pay annual fees.
In a submission to the licensing subcommittee, trading standards principal officer Jason Middleton concluded: “Multiple warnings and chances have been given to the business which have been ignored every time. In the opinion of Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Service the information presented is evidence that the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objectives have been disregarded at the premises.”
Lancashire Constabulary licensing officer PC Ste Connolly submitted the request for a review, which took place on Monday (25 November) and resulted in a 21 day suspension of the licence. That does not mean the store must close, but instead prevents it from selling licensed goods such as alcohol.
In his report, PC Connolly wrote: “Lancashire Constabulary believe that the premises are undermining the Licensing Objectives of the Prevention of Crime & Disorder, the circumstances are that the premises has been trading on a plan which does not match the current layout of the premises, despite multiple interventions and guidance the licence holder has failed to address this issue, the premises have also been found selling non-compliant vapes on multiple occasions, breaching licence conditions and failing in his duty to keep and produce licence, contrary to Section 57 of the Licensing Act 2003.”
The subcommittee was able to give out sanctions ranging from warnings to revoking the licence and concluded that the three week suspension was the appropriate decision.
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