Glasgow supermarket alcohol sales a red flag for health bosses

Glasgow City Council licensing chiefs have handed out licences to a Food Warehouse by Iceland on Auldhouse Retail Park and an Iceland supermarket at Summerston Retail Park.

They made the decision even though Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership have concerns over high rates of alcohol related hospital stays in both areas.

The partnership’s spokeswoman told the licensing board how hospital visits in the nearest data zone to Auldhouse Retail Park were 137 per cent above the Scottish rate.

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“We see an upward trend in the statistics,” she said. “We recommend you consider the health and wellbeing of the population.

“We’re seeing an increasing trend in this area that we’re not seeing in Glasgow overall.”

The spokeswoman said the neighbouring data zone to the Summerston application had alcohol related hospital stays which were 105 per cent above the Scottish average.

She told councillors that health chiefs had concerns over access to alcohol in these areas.

The health partnership also raised concerns over high mental health discharge rates but councillors said they couldn’t know whether all these cases were alcohol related.

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Iceland’s legal representative told the committee the supermarkets were a “considerable draw” at retail parks across Scotland. He said alcohol is just “a small part of the Iceland offer”.

“In my view, you’ve got a good applicant. It is not the type of place that is likely to exacerbate any of the problems.”

A police representative read a report on behalf of the Chief Constable which said Iceland had been fined £2.5m in September 2017 after the death of a contractor who fell through a ceiling in England.

It had also been fined later that year due to an infestation in a London store, the committee heard. However, the supermarket’s representative said the chain had “no new corporate convictions” since he had last addressed the committee on behalf of his client.

Last month, an Indian takeaway in the north east of the city was allowed to extend its alcohol delivery service despite health partnership concerns. Garngad Takeaway, on Royston Road, got the variation despite alcohol related hospital visits being 164 per cent above the Scottish rate.