Gunnersbury Lane Shop Has Alcohol Licence Revoked

Councillors act after Home Office investigation finds illegal workers

The Local on Gunnersbury Lane. Picture: Google Streetview

November 6, 2025

A shop in Acton has had its alcohol licence revoked following a Home Office investigation which found two members of staff were working illegally.

The decision to revoke the licence for The Local, at 1 The Broadway, Gunnersbury Lane, was made by Hounslow Council’s Licensing Panel on 27 October , after a hearing held at Hounslow House. The review was requested by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement Licensing Compliance Team (IELCT).

The Panel concluded that the business had failed to uphold the licensing objective of preventing crime and disorder, after immigration officers discovered two workers without the right to work in the UK.

According to the Home Office submission, enforcement officers visited the premises earlier this year and found that two out of three employees were working illegally. Both workers told officers they were paid in cash, and neither had passed the legally required right-to-work checks. The business was issued with a civil penalty of £80,000, which the council was told had since been referred to a debt recovery agency after missed payments.

The Home Office argued that the scale of illegal working—representing two-thirds of the shop’s workforce—made the case a “heightened concern.” Officials said that illegal working “undermines legitimate businesses and the licensing objectives” by fostering unfair competition and potential exploitation.

The licence holder, represented by Mr. Panchal, disputed parts of the Home Office account. He told councillors that the family-run business had not sought to evade responsibility and had been in negotiations since June to set up a monthly payment plan for the civil penalty.

He said the licence holder had since undertaken training for licensed premises management and implemented a Right to Work register. The licence holder, who runs several other businesses on the same street, was described as “educated, responsible, and remorseful,” having introduced new checks to ensure compliance in future.

Mr. Panchal said the situation had partly arisen through misunderstanding: one of the individuals employed had shown a marriage certificate to a British citizen, which the licence holder had mistakenly assumed granted legal working rights. The other had presented an expired visa and promised to provide an updated one, which was never received.

The defence asked councillors to consider a short suspension or additional licence conditions—such as mandatory record-keeping of right-to-work checks—rather than full revocation.

Councillors on the Licensing Panel—chaired by Cllr Farhaan Rehman, with Cllrs Dan Bowring and Gabriella Giles also present—considered evidence from both parties, relevant sections of the Licensing Act 2003, statutory Home Office guidance, and the council’s Licensing Policy.

The Panel said it accepted that the licence holder had since taken some corrective steps but concluded these should have been in place from the outset. In its written decision, the Panel said, “The use of illegal workers and possible exploitation in being underpaid against the National Minimum Wage was a clear breach of the licensing objective. There was a significant failure to promote the prevention of crime and disorder.”

The councillors also noted that paying staff in cash without tax deductions, and employing workers without valid documentation, represented serious breaches of the expectations placed on licence holders.

Referring to national guidance that cases involving illegal working “should be treated particularly seriously,” the Panel said revocation was an “appropriate and proportionate response” to the breaches identified.

The licence holder has 21 days from notification of the decision to appeal to a magistrates’ court. The shop may continue to trade in other goods, but alcohol sales are prohibited unless a new licence is granted.

If no appeal is lodged within 21 days, the revocation will take effect and The Local will lose its authorisation to sell alcohol permanently.