The licence of a Dewsbury shop caught selling illegal cigarettes has been surrendered before Kirklees Council got a chance to review it.
On 7 July, Kirklees Council’s Licensing Panel met to determine a licence review for Ravensthorpe Off-Licence at 618 Huddersfield Road. This followed a series of failed test purchases carried out by West Yorkshire Police (WYP) and Trading Standards, with each authority able to purchase illegal cigarettes.
On 4 March, 2025, a WYP officer bought an illegal 20 pack of Marlborough Gold for £7.50. Packets of open cigarettes, believed to be being sold individually, were also found. The following month, a Trading Standards officer purchased an illegal pack of Richmond cigarettes for £3.50, which are normally sold for around £14 or above.
On 22 April, 2025, officers across both authorities carried out a search at the premises for illegal tobacco and found 26 20-packs of illegal cigarettes in a bag behind the counter, along with 115 disposable electronic vapes on display for sale, with a tank capacity greater than the legal limit.
The meeting heard that the employee working at the time of the visit did not know who the owner of the shop was and stated that she had not received any training.
However, before the review could properly get underway, a statement was read out by a council Licensing Officer on behalf of the licence holder, Mr Reman Hassan, who had not wanted to attend the meeting in person, members were told.
It stated that Mr Hassan wanted to cancel and surrender the premises licence. Despite the licence being granted in his name last January, in his statement, Mr Hassan claimed that he was “unaware” his name was being used for the licence and that “new owners” who had purchased the shop two years ago told him they had transferred the licence into their name.
Ultimately, the panel continued their process and revoked the licence. Chair of the meeting, Cllr Eric Firth (Labour, Dewsbury East) explained that the reasons for the decision was due to illegal cigarettes being sold, with the panel believing that the licensing objectives of public safety, the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children from harm, had been breached.
The history of licensing at Ravensthorpe Off-Licence has been eventful, with the premises found selling alcohol to a child in August 2023, with the licence immediately surrendered. This was under previous, completely un-related ownership, an earlier Licensing Panel meeting heard.
