Taunton shop closed through legal high law
A shop in Taunton has been shut down due to new legislation covering the sale of legal high drugs.
The new anti-social behaviour legislation, which came into effect in October 2014, gives police greater powers to act should any commercial premises be the cause of social problems. Police can close down any shops or other commercial outlets if they have been found to be instrumental in causing anti-social behaviour. The shop in Taunton, which is called Hush, is the first place in the country to be closed down under the new ruling.
A successful application was made to the court in December to close the shop and the police followed this up after three months with a second order to keep it closed. Common reasons for police shutting down a commercial operation in the past were if the premises were being used as a brothel or drug den.
Town Centre Neighbourhood Sergeant Neil Kimmins of Avon and Somerset Constabulary commented: “We’re delighted that the court has allowed another three months on the Hush closure order, which means three more months without the widespread trouble its sale of legal highs was causing.”
He also stated that the police were involved in talks with Taunton Deane Borough Council to determine what else could be done to stop legal highs being sold in the town.
The owner of Hush, Simon Tomlin, unsuccessfully challenged the first court order; however, he made no challenge to the second court order, which will expire on June 16th. It is possible that Mr Tomlin is considering surrendering the lease of the outlet.