A NEW shop featuring a “beer cave” has been given the thumbs up to sell alcohol after a six figure refit.

The Premier Store on Norton Road, Stockton, opened its doors at the weekend after owner Sag Hussain promised food-to-go, desserts, Hershey’s milkshakes and Tango Ice Blasts from his new venture.

Now Stockton councillors have given the former launderette a pass to sell booze from 9am until closing time following a brief hearing on Tuesday.

Seven objectors voiced doubts ahead of the licensing decision.

Read more: Ofwat's 'serious concerns' over Northumbrian Water sewage works

Worries about the need for another shop selling drink and the potential for booze-fuelled anti-social behaviour were sounded.

But there were also 14 messages of support for Mr Hussain’s plans – backing the venture and vouching for his character.

Police and environmental health teams were happy with conditions laid down for the new store.

And councillors were shown a fly-through video of ceiling cameras and state-of-the-art cooling zones for beers.

Nick Semper, representing Mr Hussain, told the committee how the businessman had never sold alcohol to a child or to a drunk – and had faced no issues so far since the Norton Road store opened.

Mr Semper added: “What you’ve seen is a significant six-figure refit of the former launderette.

The Northern Echo:

“Lagers and ciders are to be located in a cave which is a sealed off area with an air refrigerated section so the stuff is cold and chilled already.

“We don’t sell any beers, lagers or ciders over 6.5 percent so your super strength cheap stuff is not on the market.

“We don’t sell single cans and only stock quality or craft products.”

Mr Hussain has run a store on The Avenue, in Nunthorpe, for the past three years.

He was handed the Middlesbrough Council civic award for community business of the year 2021 – and has also been shortlisted for a UK off-licence retailer gong in the past.

Ingleby Barwick resident Gary Moore praised his efforts ahead of the hearing.

He added: “It brought people together and gives a great service to people around the store.

“He creates jobs, offers a lifeline to a lot of people and helps any one who has needed it.”

Mr Semper told the panel he couldn’t find a bottle of wine on sale in the new store for less than £5.50 – claiming the shop was the “most CCTV-surveilled store in the whole of Stockton”.

Read more: Next phase of Middlesbrough train station scheme approved

The former policeman added the top-of-the-range refit saw the store sell alcohol on just 10 percent of its floor space.

When it came to the objections, Mr Semper pointed to the absence of concerns from public bodies – with all seven written objectors “making no criticism of the current operation or its operators”.

He added arguments that there was “no need” for a new store weren’t relevant to the licensing panel.

And he labelled concerns about anti-social behaviour from the shop selling booze as “sweeping generalisations”.

Mr Semper said: “It does not recognise the nature and style of the businesses run by Mr Hussain – or his vast experience running similar operations where no such problems have ensued.

“The representors’ concerns are based on fear and speculation of what might happen at some point in the future.

“There is absolutely no evidence before you that this is likely to, or ever will happen.”

Chairman Cllr Paul Kirton questioned Mr Hussain on special drink offers shown in the video.

“I always start panicking when there are special offers in the drink department,” he added.

But the chairman was told there’d be no irresponsible sales promotions.

Mr Hussain said special offers were common at supermarkets like Asda – telling the committee he had overheads to pay for the 14 staff he employed.

The businessman added: “We’re not going to be giving anything away for free – the special offers are to promote our stacks.

“It’s the same as a supermarket – we stack them up and put a label on them. They’re not cheap."

Stockton shopkeeper Stephen Tate – a former Northern district president of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) – also vouched for Mr Hussain’s character.

Mr Tate added: “There is no evidence to show he’s going to sell cheap alcohol or sell to kids.

“His shop in Nunthorpe has had no problems.”

After a few minutes of deliberation, the committee granted the licence to start immediately.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054