New Asian supermarket wants to sell alcohol in North London street 'seeing 140 crimes a month'

LEICESTER SQUARE, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2021/06/18: Leicester Square in London after Scotland Fans drinking and partying seen strewn with bottles, cans and plastic bags before the Euro 2020 match against England. (Photo by Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
-Credit:© 2021 SOPA Images/Getty Images


The Met Police are opposing plans for a new Asian supermarket to sell alcohol in 'one of the worst parts' of a North London borough for crime over concerns it will further fuel antisocial behaviour and street drinking. The police and council already receive 'regular complaints' from residents in the area, with 143 crimes recorded in just one month last year, according to police figures.

Brent Council has received a new premises licence application for Sai Krupa Supermarket on Ealing Road in Alperton which appears to have recently opened in a unit previously occupied by Pataka Supermarket. The owner is looking to sell alcohol from 6am to 11pm seven days a week, which has raised concerns with the local police who are urging the council to refuse the application.

The location of the premises sits within the Ealing Road Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), which were created to combat crime, antisocial behaviour, and street drinking in hotspots throughout the borough. The latest police figures show that, during October last year, 143 crimes were recorded within the postcode and officers fear adding another off-licence in the area will exacerbate the problem.

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Ealing Road Supermarket
The supermarket has moved into a unit formerly occupied by Pataka Supermarket -Credit:Google Maps

Out of these crimes, 28 were for antisocial behaviour, three for public order offences, and 47 for violence and sexual offences. The police highlighted that these types of crime are 'very often fuelled by intoxication via alcohol'. PC Phil Graves said: "Public order, violence and sexual offences are common crimes which already have a negative effect on community working and living along the Ealing Road."

Additionally, internal police intelligence systems reveal that, between December 11, 2024, and January 11, 2025, a search for 'Ealing Road' returned 240 hits. These figures include 15 arrests, five stop and searches, 124 calls to the police, 92 crimes reported, and four intelligence reports produced.

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PC Graves added: "The venue is not a specialist in any field and is trying to sell standard beers and wines that are already available across the borough. The crime figures [...] speak for themselves. High levels of antisocial behaviour, public order offences, violent and sexual crimes all quite often instigated by excessive and continual alcohol use."

He added: "Allowing this application to progress, no matter how strict a list of conditions imposed, would only add to more alcohol on the streets, more street drinking, more antisocial behaviour and crime in the area."

The supermarket's application has also been warned against for similar reasons by the council's licensing representative, who pointed to 'a strong correlation' between concentrations of off-licences and incidents of alcohol-led antisocial behaviour. There are already eight such premises selling alcohol in the vicinity of the supermarket.

Ealing Road, Alperton
The premises is located in a CIZ, designed to monitor and curb street drinking and crime in the area -Credit:Google Maps

The applicant has said the business wants to be able to sell alcohol from 6am in order to cater for customers who work night shifts. They said they were 'not aware' of any antisocial behaviour within the immediate vicinity but, if the application was approved, would have a member of staff 'regularly check outside the shop' to prevent crime and disorder.

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The supermarket owner wants the premises to become a 'one-stop shop' for their customers. They said: "I plan to sell a variety of goods so that the shop satisfies all [...]. There will be party supplies not offered by others so everything can be purchased at the same time, including alcohol."

The council's licensing representative said: "While I acknowledge the applicant's response and note that this application might typically be granted under different circumstances, there has been no compelling argument to suggest that this application wouldn't exacerbate the cumulative impact within the area."

The application will be reviewed by Brent Council's Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee at a meeting next month (February 6) when a decision on whether to approve the plan will be made.

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