24-hour alcohol sales bid refused for Leeds shop

An application was made for a property in Dewsbury Road in Hunslet to be opened as a shop with a licence to sell alcohol throughout the night, seven days a week.

But the authority’s environmental health department and local council members expressed concerns about noise nuisance, and whether the premises would exacerbate alcohol problems already in the area.

At a meeting of the Leeds City Council licensing sub-committee, a representative of the applicant said that much of the population in the area was eastern Europeans who tend to work late shifts in factories. As a result they are not currently catered for if they wanted to buy alcohol after they finished work.

But local councillor Paul Wray (Lab) told the panel: “This is a densely populated area with schools. To have such a premises on its doorstep is to disregard those.

“This is an area with high rate of alcohol dependency and people are working hard to try and improve the area – we want it to be a much more pleasant place for people to shop.

“This is  an inappropriate application for one of our most vulnerable communities that needs our help.

“It would be a shame on us if we accepted this.”

The council’s environmental protection department also expressed concerns over opening hours. A list of suggestions sent to the applicant included changing opening times to 7am-midnight on Monday-Thursday; 7am-12.30am on Friday and Saturday and 9am-11pm on Sunday. The committee granted a licence, but only to sell alcohol from 7am-midnight each day.