Thursday March 26th 2026
Premier Shop in Gifford, East Lothian
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A village shop once banned from selling alcohol in the run up to Christmas has narrowly kept its licence amid concerns staff do not understand enough English to be able to carry out age checks on customers.
The Premier Shop, in Gifford, only had its alcohol licence returned in May last year after a change of management despite concerns its previous premises manager remained its landlord.
At a meeting of East Lothian Licensing Board this week fresh concerns over its running were raised after it was revealed a staff member had falsely claimed to be the boss during a visit by their inspectors and appeared unable to understand their questions.
The board’s licensing standards officer (LSO) said she had concerns about a lack of training provided to workers, the lack of presence by personal licence holder Prasanth Baskaran, who the staff member had claimed to be, and how staff could safeguard against selling to underage children if they were “unable to communicate to complete age verification checks”.
The Premier Store, had applied for occasional licences which it has been selling alcohol under since May last year.
Under previous management the licensing board had refused to renew its premises licence in December 2023 after the LSO found its previous licence had run out, a single staff member working in it who did not speak English and a lack of training documentation.
The board was told the occasional licences were required because of an ongoing issue with building standards which delayed its ability to apply for a permanent premises licence and training was not statutory under the temporary provision.
They were also told work would be carried out to improve training for staff and ensure the shop was properly managed moving forward. Mr Baskaran told members he aimed to be in the shop daily but he and his wife had recently had a baby and he was supporting her at home as well.
He said staff in the store were ‘childhood friends’ from Sri Lanka who he had brought up from London, where they had worked in off licences, to help in the shop.
Police Scotland did not object to the application but a representative told the board it was aware of the LSO’s recent findings and was investigating what had happened.
Following an adjournment to discuss the licences privately, board members approved them by three votes to two.
Councillor John McMillan, economic spokesperson, said he support the licence with difficulty saying: “It is a community shop and the community council has been clear it wants it to succeed. I think it has been struggling to meet the licensing objectives but I think there is an opportunity here to prove their commitment.
“It is with some difficulty I am going to support the licence application.”
Opposing the licence, Councillor Lee-Anne Menzies said: “The LSO was given a false name by a member of staff. It is a criminal offence to intentionally obstruct an LSO. I am disappointed this does not come up in the police report.”
Licensing Board convenor Councillor George McGuire supported approving the licence telling Mr Baskaranh he was being given a chance to improve adding: “Hopefully we will not be back here in three months when there could be a very different outcome.”
Councillor McGuire, McMillan and Fiona Dugdale, approved the application which was opposed by Councillor Menzies and Councillor Neil Gilbert.
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