New Co-op store wins battle to sell booze

A CONTROVERSIAL licence has been granted to the Co-op to serve alcohol at a new store in Grotton.

Despite 60 objection letters being lodged with the council, the company was given permission to serve alcohol between 8am and 10pm, Monday to Saturday, at the former Grotton Hotel pub.

Sunday serving will be restricted to 10am until 10pm.

The application from the Co-operative Food Group was reduced from a 6am start and 11pm finish following consultation with the police.

Campaigners staged a fierce protest when the chain’s intentions for the former pub were discovered. Objection letters referred to perceived problems with public safety, disturbances, anti-social behaviour, sales to under-age customers and excessive licensing hours.

Peter Rosebury, speaking on behalf of the Grotton Residents’ Association, said the group garnered 414 petition signatures, which, he argued, equated to over 50 per cent of Grotton residents.

However, this was produced too late to be considered by the licensing panel.

Mr Rosebury said: “This is a very quiet village and people are worried. It can be intimidating for people being asked to go in the store and buy alcohol by youths, and people have been seen at all hours taking whisky and alcohol in the play areas.”

Richard Arnot, the Co-op’s solicitor, assured those with concerns that the company’s track record was good in preventing under-age sales and that it would do all it could to prevent antisocial behaviour circling the new store.

He said the company was spending £470,000 creating the store which would have 20 staff.

He added: “We like to see the Co-op as an active member in the community. We understand the implications of getting it wrong.

“This is not just lip service — having children hanging around and being troublesome is also bad for business so we take steps to make sure we don’t allow ourselves to be vulnerable.”

Sixteen conditions were placed on the licence, including the need for CCTV to be installed, a panic alarm to be fitted for staff in case of emergency and a Challenge 25 policy be adopted promptly. This requires staff to ask for proof of age from customers who look under the age of 25, as well as input the age into the till to allow the sale of alcohol.

Members of the Grotton Residents’ Association say they will now work with the Co-op.