A NEW shop and off-licence is to open a few doors down from an existing one in a popular student area in Swansea.
The building at the corner of Rhyddings Terrace and Bernard Street, Brynmill, is being renovated and now has a premises licence.
The licence enables alcohol to be served there from 8am to 10pm seven days per week and it’ll be run by Jahangir Ahmad, whose family run the nearby shop and off-licence a stone’s throw away in Bernard Street.
A council licensing sub-committee heard there were no representations from statutory consultees such as police but an objection was sent by an unnamed resident who said the area was becoming increasingly family-orientated.
“There is already an existing premises selling alcohol approximately 15 seconds away as well as multiple shops in the Uplands area within a five-minute walk,” said the objection letter. “The addition of another alcohol outlet in such close proximity risks encouraging loitering and alcohol-related disorder.”
The objector, who didn’t attend the licensing meeting, was worried about the impact on residents’ quality of life.
Solicitor Justin Davies, representing Mr Ahmad, said his firm had written to the objector in a bid to allay some of the concerns.
He said objecting on the basis of need wasn’t a relevant consideration and added: “All that remains is an indeterminate future fear of an increase in crime and disorder.”
Mr Davies went on to say the applicant and his family have been involved in the trade for 40 to 50 years collectively without any concerns, as far as he knew, being raised.
The new shop and off-licence will close at 10pm – the same time as the alcohol sale cut-off – and Mr Davies said this was consistent with what was available in the area.
He added: “There is I am told some positive feeling within the community about the provision of this additional service.”
Councillors on the sub-committee have seen a copy of the letter sent to the objector and, after retiring to consider the evidence, granted the premises licence subject to conditions. These include installing CCTV coverage and challenging people who look under 25 for proof of their age.
