Initially the shop would have stayed open until 2am, but the closing time was brought forward
The location of the new shop in Lyde Green(Image: South Gloucestershire Council)
Local residents living in a quiet Bristol suburb are opposing a plan for a new corner shop selling alcohol late at night. They told councillors that the new shop in Lyde Green, which will stay open until 11pm, could cause an increase in anti-social behaviour, problem parking and littering.
Lyde Green is a newly built housing estate on the north-eastern edge of Bristol, with few amenities but hundreds of new residents. South Gloucestershire Council has granted a premises licence for the new shop, which is on Thistle Close opposite the Sainsburys.
Initially the applicants planned to stay open until 2am, but brought forward the closing time to 11pm after discussions with Avon and Somerset Police. The licence was approved by councillors in a hearing on Monday, July 7, despite the concerns of neighbours in the area.
Tom Heard, a local resident, said: “Studies have regularly shown that an increase in the number of licensed premises directly corresponds to an increase in public disorder. This would be the third, and potentially the fourth if the micropub is still to go ahead, within a 10-metre radius. The area around the site is extremely busy.
“The road is regularly used for dropping children off to school. Invariably there are many people parking not just on the double yellow lines, but also mounting the kerb on both sides of the road. An extra shop is going to bring in more cars and there isn’t anywhere really for people to park. Littering and drunken behaviour are also likely to increase.”
Other local residents wrote to the council to object to the licensing application, with several highlighting the initial plan to stay open until 2am, much later than the other premises in the estate. Some also questioned the need for a shop given the Sainsburys opposite.
Oisin Daly, a licensing consultant representing the applicant, said: “I’ve got a local Sainsburys in my town and it’s the only supermarket. We’ve got a little joke, me and my wife, that every time you buy a bag it costs you £30 because you can’t walk out of there without spending about £30.
“A little convenience shop allows local residents to have smaller purchases. They tend to be places where you can get some cereal or milk for the morning. Obviously they sell alcohol as well. This will be the 12th shop in the chain, and they’re going from strength to strength.”