A convenience store in Brighton will not be allowed to sell alcohol after neighbours objected.
Freshfield Market, in Freshfield Road, is also in an area where Brighton and Hove City Council restricts new off-licences “because of the relatively high levels of crime and disorder and nuisance”.
The owner Ufuk Cetinkaya told a council licensing panel that he needed to be able to sell alcohol to make his business viable. It is based in the old Freshfield Inn pub.
But the council’s licensing team and public health department said that Freshfield Market was in Queen’s Park, the ward ranked worst for A&E (accident and emergency) attendances for alcohol-related admissions and deaths.
And neighbours said that the area was family-orientated and already “well served” with off-licences.
Mr Cetinkaya also offered to restrict alcohol to no more than 10 per cent of the shop area and instal security cameras.
The application went before a licensing panel at Hove Town Hall last month.
The panel has now given its verdict. It said: “We do not consider that the application, even with the agreed conditions, constitutes exceptional circumstances, justifying a departure from the (council’s policy).
“The problems associated with Queen’s Park ward, the proximity of occupied flats, the quiet residential nature of the surrounding area and the pre-loading risk are too significant concerns to dismiss.”
