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\n A decision to open another late-night off-licence in Bearwood has been approved.\n <\/p>\n
Sandwell Council\u2019s licensing committee approved a plan for the new Continental Market shop in Bearwood Road, Bearwood, Smethwick to sell alcohol.<\/p>\n
The hearing was held following a number of complaints from neighbours who said another new late-night shop was turning Bearwood\u2019s high street into a \u2018health and safety risk.\u2019<\/p>\n
A decision was due to be made in September but the meeting was adjourned over a \u201cdiscrepancy\u201d with the shop\u2019s layout and the licensing committee granted applicant Ali Ashorbig\u2019s request to push back a decision so he could provide the council with the correct documents.<\/p>\n
The application was approved at a hearing on Tuesday (November 25).\u00a0<\/p>\n
One objector said smashed glass bottles, drug paraphernalia and human waste were making Bearwood Road a \u201chealth and safety risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe high street has more than its fair share of establishments selling alcoholic beverages and food,\u201d the objection said. \u201cWe do not require any more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shop opened in the former Twisty Pretzel bakery next door to another off-licence JM Shop which opened last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An objector said there was \u201cno demonstrable need\u201d for another off-licence in Bearwood Road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe area is surrounded by many schools,\u201d the objection read. \u201cIt is already subject to problems that place young people at risk; adding late-night alcohol sales and vapes could normalise and attract further harmful behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to note that the immediate area already has multiple off licences, with the nearest being next door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe saturation of such premises has not improved the area\u2019s condition, in fact it has coincided with the rise in disorder, littering and nuisance behaviour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no demonstrable need for another outlet such as this on Bearwood Road.\u201d<\/p>\n
One resident living in nearby Wattis Road said they were \u201cincreasingly concerned\u201d by the increase in late-night shops in Bearwood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently, the area already hosts four such establishments, Quincy\u2019s Market, The Bob Shop, JM Shop and Vape, and Eagles Booze, all of which sell similar products and maintain similar storefronts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cumulative impact of these shops has coincided with a noticeable increase in antisocial behaviour, including loitering, disturbances during late hours, and suspicious activity involving vehicles parked outside these premises.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camelia Gonciulea, the former owner of Twisty Pretzel, was wrongly chased by debt collectors over a \u00a324,000 electricity bill in 2024 after criminals illegally hooked up a huge cannabis farm to the bakery\u2019s mains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two-year deal to clear her name saw the bakery owner charged \u00a36,000 in interest before bailiffs were told to stand down.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A decision to open another late-night off-licence in Bearwood has been approved. Sandwell Council\u2019s licensing committee approved a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[22440,22441,855,9163,22439,748,9444,1354,393,9453,4884,14987,269,12,3669,9440,93,16823,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-597914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-102-5","9":"tag-102-5-fm","10":"tag-birmingham","11":"tag-black-country","12":"tag-brierley-hill","13":"tag-britain","14":"tag-dab","15":"tag-dudley","16":"tag-england","17":"tag-fm","18":"tag-great-britain","19":"tag-halesowen","20":"tag-music","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-online","23":"tag-radio","24":"tag-sport","25":"tag-stourbridge","26":"tag-uk","27":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115623778009068084","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}