Licence granted for Botley Booze off-licence in Oxford

An application to convert the former Green Bamboo in Botley Road into Botley Booze, an off-licence, has been granted permission by Oxford City Council.

The council’s licensing and gambling sub-committee agreed that alcohol can be sold for consumption off the premises from 8am to 11pm, seven days a week.

The decision is the latest chapter in a long‑running saga involving the Lalpurwal family’s off‑licence empire in Oxford.

Avret Singh Lalpurwal, who used to run Uni Food & Wine in Frideswide Square, was prosecuted after trading standards officers seized more than 1,400 illegal vapes and other illicit nicotine products from his shop – the biggest haul ever recorded in Oxfordshire at the time.

Green Bamboo. (Image: Google Maps.)

Since then, that store has been rebranded as TNT Convenience and handed to his son, while Avret has turned his attention to new ventures and his wife, Manpreet Kaur Lalpurwal, has stepped forward as the named licence holder for Botley Booze on Botley Road.

This background prompted unease among some neighbours when plans emerged for a fresh alcohol licence on Botley Road, with residents citing fears over crime, antisocial behaviour and the protection of children from harm.

At this week’s hearing, officers stressed that a previous licence revocation elsewhere related to trading standards’ investigation into illegal tobacco and vapes and did not involve the current applicant, Manpreet Kaur Lalpurwal.

No responsible authorities formally objected to the revised application, which incorporated conditions agreed in advance with police and trading standards.

When deciding to grant the application, councillors imposed tighter Challenge 25 rules on vapes and tobacco, as well as alcohol, restricted the use of an unapproved back storeroom extension.

However, councillors voted to tighten safeguards. They ruled that a storeroom at the rear of the shop, which forms part of an extension currently going through a separate planning process, cannot be used until planning permission is fully in place.

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Councillors also extended the store’s Challenge 25 policy beyond alcohol to cover nicotine products, vapes and tobacco.

The applicant and her agent told the panel they already use CCTV, keep refusal logs and will undertake further training to ensure staff stay up to date with changing legislation.

The committee concluded that granting the licence with these conditions struck the right balance between supporting a new local business and addressing residents’ concerns about public safety, nuisance and underage sales on one of Oxford’s busiest roads.