City centre barber shop’s bid to sell booze rejected

A barber shop in Manchester city centre has been blocked from becoming an off-licence after councillors said they did not have confidence in its boss. HQ Hair by Design in Swan Street was set to be turned into Sam Off Licence, but Manchester council's licensing panel has rejected its application to sell alcohol.

It comes after licensing officers visited the premises last month and quizzed its boss Bereket Amanuel. They said that Mr Amanuel could not answer some of their questions and described his knowledge of licensing rules as 'weak'.

Mr Amanuel was also unable to state how he would prevent a drunk person entering the shop, according to GMP, and unable to explain why he would not employ a door supervisor if the store was allowed to stay open after midnight. The police also raised concerns about the proposed layout of the off licence.

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PC Aftab Hussain told councillors on the licensing panel that Mr Amanuel originally wanted to start selling alcohol when the shop opens at 7am, but this was later revised to 10am. The application seeks a licence for the supply of alcohol until midnight on most nights and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

PC Hussain said that Mr Amanuel also intends to sell confectionary, but this is not mentioned in the application. If the off licence is allowed to open, he added, Mr Amanuel wishes to move the barber shop to an empty unit nearby.

But speaking at a town hall hearing on Wednesday (April 12), PC Hussain said the application should be refused because Mr Amanuel could not answer some questions during the visit on March 13. He said: "Mr Amanuel is not here.

"If he was here then maybe he would have been able