LIDL (Northern Ireland) GmbH and Wine Inns Limited and Winemark the Wine Merchants Limited
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Weatherup J |
| Judgment Date | 2004 |
| Neutral Citation | [2004] NIQB 10 |
| Year | 2004 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 25 December 2003 |
Neutral Citation no [2004] NIQB 10 Ref:
WEAC4082
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
25/02/2004
(subject to editorial corrections)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
________
BETWEEN:
LIDL (NORTHERN IRELAND) GmbH
(Applicant) Appellant;
and
WINE INNS LIMITED AND WINEMARK THE WINE
MERCHANTS LIMITED
(Objectors) Respondents.
________
WEATHERUP J
The appeal
[1] Lidl (Northern Ireland) GmbH (“Lidl”) applied under the Licensing
(Northern Ireland) Order 1996 for the provisional grant of an off-licence at
261-263 Antrim Road, Glengormley, County Antrim. His Honour Judge Hart
QC, Recorder of Belfast, dismissed the application and the applicant appeals
against that decision. Objection to the application has been made by Wine
Inns Limited and Winemark the Wine Merchants Limited who are the owners
of two off-licences known as Winemark at Antrim Road, Glengormley and
Carnmoney Road, Glengormley.
[2] Lidl is a long established German based food store retailer with over
5,000 stores and trades in 11 European countries. There are over 300 stores in
Great Britain and in 1999 Lidl extended its operations to Northern Ireland
where it now operates 26 stores.
[3] Lidl describes itself as a “discount retailer”. The concept involves
stocking a limited range of products at discounted prices across all product
ranges to that Lidl stocks between 800 and 900 convenience lines rather than
the 15,000 single and multiple lines stocked by superstore operators.
2
[4] Of the 26 Lidl stores in Northern Ireland 9 operate off-licences. The
Lidl discount retailer approach also applies to the off-licences, which stock
approximately 70 lines as opposed to the approximately 400 or 500 lines in
other off-licences.
The legislation
[5] The Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 provides for the general
licensing system in Northern Ireland. Article 5(1) lists the premises in which
the sale of intoxicating liquor is authorised by a licence as including –
“(b) premises in which the business carried on
under the licence is the business of selling
intoxicating liquor by retail for consumption off
the premises.”
Article 7(4) provides that –
“A court shall refuse an application for the grant of
a licence unless it is satisfied –
(a) subject to paragraph (5)(a) that the
procedure relating to the application set out in part
1 of Schedule 1 has been complied with; and
(b) that the applicant is a fit person to hold a
licence; and
(c) that the premises are of the kind specified in
the application; and
(d) subject to paragraph 5(b) that the premises
are suitable to be licensed for the sale of
intoxicating liquor by retail; and
(e) where the premises are of a kind mentioned
in Article 5(1)(a) or (b) –
(i) subject to paragraph 6, that the
number of licensed premises of the kind
specified in the application which are in the
vicinity of the premises is, having regard to
any licences provisionally granted under
Article 9 or any sites approved under
Article 10 will be, inadequate; and
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