The Licensing Hearing Sub Committee of Bury Council convened on Friday, 3 October 2025, to consider an application for a premises licence. The meeting was held virtually via Microsoft Teams. Councillor Tahir Rafiq, Deputy Mayor, Councillor Luis McBriar, and Councillor Mary Walsh were scheduled to be in attendance.

Prestwich Store - Application for a Premises Licence

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to review an application for a premises licence for Prestwich Store, located at 3 Fairfax Road, Prestwich, M25 1AS. The applicant, Access Pay Limited, sought permission to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises. Mr Ezekiel Peters was named as the proposed Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS).

The proposed hours for the sale of alcohol were:

• Monday to Saturday: 08:00 to 23:30
• Sunday: 09:00 to 22:30

The report pack included the operating schedule submitted by the applicant, outlining conditions consistent with the licensing objectives, including:

• Prevention of crime and disorder, including the installation and maintenance of CCTV, staff training, and implementation of a Challenge 25 policy¹.
• Public safety, including managing crowd size, providing first aid, and maintaining the premises in accordance with health and safety regulations.
• Prevention of public nuisance, including noise control and litter management.
• Protection of children from harm, including age verification and staff training.

Representations against the application were received from two Responsible Authorities:

• Greater Manchester Police
• Trading Standards Service

Greater Manchester Police raised concerns regarding the prevention of crime and disorder, citing a history of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes being found on the premises. They also questioned who would be responsible for running the premises, as Mr Ezekiel Peters had not been located on the premises during previous visits. The police also stated that the registered business address for Access Pay Ltd, was another off licence, and that nobody at that address knew Mr Ezekiel Peters, nor had given him permission to use the premises as a registered business address.

Greater Manchester Police has serious concerns as to whether the licensing objectives will be upheld in this case. First of all, illicit tobacco and illegal vapes have been found on the premises which undermines the Prevention of Crime and Disorder objective, furthermore there are serious concerns as to who will actually be responsible for the running and management of the premises as Mr Peters has never been located on the premises in previous visits and it would appear that the registered business address for Access Pay Ltd, which is owned by the proposed license holder and DPS, Ezekiel Peters, is in fact another off license and no one associated with those premises, know of a Mr Ezekiel Peters nor have given permission for Mr Peters to use the premises as a registered business address.

If the Sub-Committee was not minded to refuse the application, Greater Manchester Police requested that a number of conditions be attached to the licence, including measures to prevent public nuisance, prevent crime and disorder, and protect children from harm.

The Trading Standards Service also objected to the application, raising similar concerns about the prevention of crime and disorder. They highlighted a previous visit to the premises where illicit goods were found, and noted that the registered office address for Access Pay Ltd was also an off licence in Warrington, which had been caught with illegal vapes.

The Responsible Authority has serious concerns as to who will actually be responsible and running this shop. The licence holder and the DPS will be named as Ezekiel Peters. Mr Peters has been named as the agent in previous applications and hasn't been present when we visited. Whilst the previous application was going through, illicit goods were found on the premises, and illicit goods undermined the prevention of crime and disorder objective. The registered office address for Access Pay Ltd is also an off licence in Warrington, which has been caught in June this year with illegal vapes. Due to the undermining of the crime and disorder objective, the Weights and Measures Authority would request that the application is refused.

Similar to the police, the Trading Standards Service suggested a number of conditions to be placed on the licence if the Sub-Committee was minded not to refuse the application, including measures to prevent public nuisance, prevent crime and disorder, and protect children from harm.

The Sub-Committee was advised that it could grant the application in the terms requested, grant the application subject to conditions, amend or modify existing or proposed conditions, or refuse the application.