The Licensing Panel of Harrow Council met on Thursday 20 November 2025 to consider a new premises licence application for AS Food & Wine. The applicant, Roginithevi Suthakaran, ultimately withdrew her application during the hearing, opting to continue operating under the existing licence.

Application for a New Premises Licence for AS Food & Wine

The primary item of business was an application for a new premises licence for AS Food & Wine, located at 50 South Parade, Mollison Way, Edgware, Harrow, HA8 5QL. The applicant, Roginithevi Suthakaran, represented by her agent Nira Suresh of Arka Licensing Consultants, sought to extend the sale of alcohol hours from 6 am to 2 am daily and to include late-night refreshment from 11 pm to 2 am.

The application attracted objections from the Metropolitan Police and the Licensing Authority. These objections centred on four disputed conditions proposed by the police:

• The sale of alcohol to commence at 9 am instead of 6 am.
• Only spirits of 20cl or over in volume to be sold.
• No single cans of beer, lager, or cider to be sold.
• No cans of beer, lager, or cider over 6% ABV to be sold.

The police and licensing authority argued that these conditions were necessary to address concerns about street drinking, anti-social behaviour, and crime in the Mollison Way area. PC Siddhartha Bhandari, a Licensing Constable for Harrow, presented evidence of 19 crime reports in the vicinity between July and September 2025, nine of which were directly related to alcohol. He highlighted issues such as street drinking, intimidation, littering, and defecation in alleyways, stating that the proposed conditions were crucial to prevent these problems from worsening.

The applicant's agent, Nira Suresh, argued that the proposed conditions were disproportionate and inconsistent with those at other licensed premises in the area. He contended that there was no direct evidence linking alcohol purchased from the premises to the reported crimes and that restricting sales of single cans or miniatures would unfairly impact local residents who purchased these items for home consumption. Mr. Suresh also pointed out that the existing licence allowed sales from 6 am and that the area had seen improvements.

During the hearing, the applicant agreed to the condition regarding the sale of beer, lager, or cider over 6% ABV, with an amendment to exclude premium beers. However, disagreements persisted over the other three conditions.

The Licensing Authority, represented by Jhini Mukherjee, Commercial Licensing Team Leader, expressed concerns about the applicant's procedural approach, noting that a new licence application had been submitted instead of a transfer of the existing licence, which already contained some restrictions. Ms. Mukherjee stated that this approach undermines both the purpose of the consultation process and the licensing objectives. She also highlighted a visit the previous day which revealed the premises was selling miniatures, which, while complying with the letter of the existing licence, indicated a strong emphasis on selling these products.

Ultimately, after considerable discussion and consultation between the applicant and her agent, Roginithevi Suthakaran decided to withdraw the application for the new premises licence. She confirmed that the business would continue to operate under the existing licence, which permits the sale of alcohol from 6 am to midnight daily and does not include late-night refreshment. The panel was therefore not required to make a formal decision on the new application.