Barking and Dagenham Council's Licensing Sub-Committee has postponed a decision on the transfer of a premises licence for Garip Superstore T/A Costcutter, located at 14-20 Farr Avenue, Barking, amid concerns about the employment of illegal workers and other breaches of licensing conditions.

The application sought to remove Ismail Garip as a licence holder, leaving Caglar Garip as the sole licence holder. The sub-committee deferred the decision to a later date to allow for further consideration of the evidence.

The application was submitted while an appeal against the revocation of the premises licence was in place. The licence had been revoked on 28 August 2025, following a review by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement Alcohol Licensing Team. The outcome of the appeal is not stated in the council documents.

The Metropolitan Police, represented by PC Owen Dunn, objected to the transfer. PC Dunn cited the discovery of three illegal workers at the venue and breaches of four premises licence conditions, leading to the initial revocation. The police representation is available as Appendix B - Police representation.

PC Dunn raised concerns about Caglar Garip's suitability to hold a licence, stating:

Police do not have confidence that Caglar GARIP is a suitable person to be a licence holder. Although the comments made, are to blame Ismail for the recruitment of illegal workers at the premises, Caglar GARIP was and technically still IS a licence holder for this venue, therefore it was/is their responsibility too.

PC Dunn also highlighted Mr Garip's apparent lack of knowledge about the business's operations as a significant concern. He added, The fact this situation has a licence holder denying knowledge of what was occurring at their venue, stating they were unaware of what was going on, and who was being recruited into the business is of huge concern to the Police.

The sub-committee had the option to either approve or reject the application. The Public reports pack provides further details on the application and the representations made.

The agenda for the meeting lists the item as Licensing Act 2003 - Transfer Application for Premises Licence - Garip Superstore T/A Costcutter, 14-20 Farr Avenue, Barking IG11 0NZ .

Floor plan of Garip Superstore T/A Costcutter at 14-20 Farr Avenue, Barking IG11 0NZ, submitted as part of a premises license transfer application.
Floor plan of Garip Superstore T/A Costcutter at 14-20 Farr Avenue, Barking IG11 0NZ, submitted as part of a premises license transfer application.

Above: A floor plan of the Costcutter store was included in the application.