Residents' fears fail to halt new Bognor Regis shop from selling alcohol

The go-ahead for Tomas Nemec to stock alcohol at the Queensway Convenience Store came in spite of strong objections from Pauline Warring of Fitzleet House.

Fitzleet House resident Mrs Warring told councillors she feared the new store would add to the anti-social behaviour problems around the nearby sunken gardens.

"We have those problems already," she said. "They don't just come from people in pubs. They go to outlets nearby and purchase alcohol for the sole purpose of sitting in the sunken gardens and drinking there.

"Our concern is that this is going to be the closest outlet and people will go there.

"With the summer months coming up, this problem is going to become even more prominent. The situation has already deteriorated over the last year or so.

"You never get a day when you don't go in the surrounding area and find broken bottles and cans littering the ground."

PC Dave Whitcombe, of Sussex Police, said officers were well aware of the problems caused in the sunken gardens.

"They take a lot of police time. Unfortunately, the alcohol which finds its way there is not from the closest outlets. People travel vast distances on foot and will buy alcohol from any shop they pass." Some five outlets within a quarter of a mile of Mr Nemec's shop sold alcohol, he stated.

Councillors on the Arun District Council's licensing sub-committee agreed to allow Mr Nemec a new premises licence to sell alcohol after he had agreed to cut his opening hours in response to those issues.

In pre-meeting talks with the police, he replaced his original plans to open between 8am and midnight after they objected. He will instead be welcoming customers from 8am until 11pm.

The earlier closing overcomes police fears that opening to midnight would have attracted pub-goers making their way home to buy more alcohol while they bought a kebab in the next door shop.

Mr Nemec's solicitor, Patrick Burke, said: "The main reason Mr Nemec has agreed to reduce his hours, having spoken to the police is that they had concerns about anti-social behaviour after 11pm when people come from the pubs to the kebab shop next door to his store.

"That is now not going to happen."

There was no evidence allowing Mr Nemec to sell alcohol would worsen the existing anti-social behaviour.

"Mr Nemec can't be blamed for anything which has happened before he opens. He has already agreed to reduce his hours.

Sales of alcohol in stores such as Mr Nemec's usually accounted for about 30 per cent of the goods purchased, he stated.

"This is not an off-licence," he said.

"This is a general store selling a wide range of produce and general provisions."

Mr Nemec will also have to gain police approval for the height of and position of three CCTV cameras inside and outside the store as a condition of his licence agreed by the sub-committee.

In addition, he must also join the Shopwatch/Pubwatch schemes designed to tackle criminal behaviour and maintain a refusal book to detail incidents when customers are turned away from buying booze.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAPWhat do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP