Police and council raise fears over Hartlepool shop's bid to have alcohol licence restored
A hearing is to be held over a bid to allow a store to sell alcohol again after it was previously stripped of its licence over concerns around illegal vapes and underage cigarette sales.
Headland Local Shop at 31 Northgate had its licence revoked in August 2025 after an operation by Hartlepool Borough Council trading standards chiefs.
This involved two 14-year-old volunteers covertly entering under the supervision of officers and they were sold a packet of 20 cigarettes and a packet of cigarette papers.
Trading standards officers later found “270 illegal vapes on open display behind the counter” which were seized and that CCTV requirements had not been complied with.
An application has recently been lodged by Vasuki Navaraththinarasa seeking to license the store to sell alcohol once again between the hours of 6am and midnight.
It notes the applicant is “taking over the business” and will “be renovating/refurbishing to operate an upgraded local store”.
It also claims the previous manager “has left the business” and will have no involvement “whatsoever” with the shop’s operation.
Yet objections have been lodged by Cleveland Police and the local authority’s licensing and trading standards teams over the move.
The application will therefore go before the council’s licensing sub-committee on Wednesday, May 13, after initially being scheduled to do so last month before it was postponed at the request of the applicant.
A response from Neil Harrison, from the trading standards team, raises concerns the applicant has “a long standing management association with the premises dating back to 2022 and possibly earlier”.
This would therefore be prior to and including the period of the underage sales and illegal vape incidents.
His submission includes evidence that Ms Navaraththinarasa was listed in April 2022, August 2023 and August 2025 inspection reports as food business operator for the premises.
It adds she is also listed as the individual responsible for business rates at the site, and has been since December 2019.
Similar concerns were also raised by the council’s licensing department, who additionally highlighted how the proposed hours for alcohol sales are outside those outlined for residential areas in its licensing policy.
Meanwhile, a response from Cleveland Police claims Ms Navaraththinarasa “is the spouse of the former licence holder” and they hold evidence indicating she “had a significant involvement in the business prior to the submission of this application and when the revocation took place”.
It adds: “There remains a substantial risk of future or further issues arising that relate directly to the grounds on which the previous licence was revoked.”