Off-licence Council Committee review after alleged underage alcohol sales...

The Convenience Store in Avenue Road Hartlepool is just yards away from the Councils Civic Centre & was previously met with strong objections from even the councils own Environmental services department as well as Cleveland Police.

Shop granted alcohol licence despite police concerns now accused of selling to children

25th Feb 2026

A Hartlepool convenience store which was previously granted permission to sell alcohol despite earlier objections from authorities is now at the centre of a formal council licensing review following allegations it sold alcohol and nicotine products to children.

The Licensing Sub-Committee for Hartlepool Borough Council will meet on the 4th of March 2026 to consider an application by the councils Trading Standards Team to review the premises licence for Go Local, Victoria House, 24-26 Avenue Road, located just yards away from the towns local Police Station & Council Buildings.

The review was reportedly triggered after a test-purchase operation back in October 2025 seen volunteers, said to have been aged 15 and 16 were allegedly sold four cans of Strongbow cider and a nicotine vape. The sale, which took place at around 7.27pm, is said to have occurred without any age verification despite the premises supposedly operating a Challenge 25 policy. Under the Licensing Act 2003 it's a criminal offence to sell alcohol to a person under the age of 18, while the sale of nicotine products to children is prohibited under the Children and Families Act 2014.

The Licence Holder did not respond to requests for a formal Interview

According to the report, which is set to go before councillors next week, the licence holder at the time of the underage sale did not respond to a request to attend a formal interview under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. The premises has also been accused of breaching its permitted trading hours, where its claimed in December 2025, a licensing officer entered the shop at 11.37pm — seven minutes after the authorised cut-off time for alcohol sales — and was able to purchase a bottle of Kopparberg cider. The report states the seller provided a plastic bag in an apparent attempt to conceal the transaction.

Trading Standards argue that the alleged incidents undermine two of the fundamental licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children from harm. The review application is supported by Cleveland Police, (one of the original objectors to the council granting the license in the first place back in 2024) & the council’s Public Health department.

The current premises licence holder and designated premises supervisor is listed as Lojan Ramesh, who took over the licence in November 2025 following a transfer application submitted shortly after the failed test purchase.

The premises licence permits the sale of alcohol between 8am and 11.30pm each day. However, the alleged breaches mean the licence could now be at risk, in line with a number of similar cases across the town as Hartlepool Borough Council seeks to tackle what it says is a significant rise in underage sales of alcohol and tobacco to children.

The case is also likely to reignite questions over the original decision to grant the licence in June 2024, when both Cleveland Police and the council’s environmental health department lodged objections.

Councillors are not expected to announce their final determination at the conclusion of the hearing. Instead, the licence holder will be formally notified of the sub-committee’s decision in writing at a later date.