Dear Resident,

A Stevenage shop has had its licence to sell alcohol revoked after officers from the Stevenage Police Community Safety Unit asked for an urgent review. 

At a hearing of Stevenage Borough Council’s Licensing Committee, which met on Thursday 19 December, the request to revoke the licence of Oval Wines on The Oval was upheld.

At the meeting, officers presented evidence that the shop was being used as a hub by a county lines drug gang, including footage of a confrontation between two rival gangs on August 30 this year.

Senior Licensing officer for Stevenage Police, Gill Akroyd, said: "During the incident, in which machetes were seen, gang members were able to hide in the shop and use the rear door as an escape route.”

During a police search of the store, drugs wipes found cocaine residue on the shop’s counters, in the staff kitchen and in the staff toilet.

Trading Standards – which supported the application to review the shop’s licence – visited the off licence in October this year and seized illegal items, including cigarette cartons and Viagra jellies that are only legally available from pharmacists.

The items, as well as suspected illegal tobacco pouches, were found in the shop’s storage area. 

Police officers also seized more than £4,000 in cash which was being stored in the shop but could not be accounted for.

Mrs Akroyd added: “I am pleased that the Licensing Committee saw fit to revoke this licence, due to the concerns raised by Hertfordshire Constabulary. 

“The use of these premises by local gangs and for the purpose of selling illegal vapes, tobacco and cigarettes, along with the evidence of drugs within the shop, are all serious license breaches that cannot be tolerated. We believe the management has no intention of adhering to their four Licensing Objectives and can therefore not be allowed to operate under these terms.”

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