The new owner of Hove Post Office said that he wanted a drinks licence because otherwise the business would have to close.
David Isaac, 51, bought the business in August and said that he wanted to retain the post office while turning the rest of the shop into more of a convenience store.
Mr Isaac said that alcohol sales were expected to make up about 25 per cent of the business, in Church Road, Hove, with existing lines such as stationery barely selling.
His licensing agent Nick Semper said that this reflected the wider shift away from letter-writing to emails and the increasing competition from private delivery firms for parcels.
Mr Semper said that post offices remained a vital community asset, not least as somewhere that people could deposit and withdraw cash as bank branch closures continued.
Mr Isaac applied to Brighton and Hove City Council for a new premises licence but objections were lodged by the council licensing team, Sussex Police and a rival trader, Budgens.
As a result, a council licensing panel held an online hearing this morning (Thursday 30 October) to decide whether to grant or refuse the licence application.
Mr Isaac said that he wanted a licence to cover the hours from 8am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 7pm on Sundays.
He already runs a similar business, Maxi’s, a post office and store with an off-licence, in High Street, Shoreham, as well as the post office in Blatchington Road, Hove.
And he previously ran a convenience store with an off-licence in Station Road, Portslade, until he sold the business.
But he had no plans to turn the Blatchington Road post office into a store with an off-licence, partly because it was too small and partly because there was a late-night off-licence next door.
At the post office in Church Road, though, Mr Semper said that “it’s a modest application” because the business had to “diversity or die” while Mr Isaac said that, without a premises licence, it would close in January.
Council lawyer Rebecca Sidell told the panel of three councillors: “You can’t take into account the threat of the loss of the post office.”
And council licensing official Emma Grant said that the location of the premises in Church Road was inside the area that had been designated a “special stress area” by the council.
This was because of the cumulative effects of licensed premises in the area and drink-related crime and disorder.
Mark Thorogood, from the Sussex police licensing team, said that more than 400 crimes were recorded within 500 yards of the post office over the past year.
They included 27 sexual offences and eight robberies, almost 200 violent crimes, almost 80 public order offences, 73 incidents of criminal damage and more than 40 drugs offences.
Mr Semper asked how many of the offences were drink-related as opposed to, say, drug-related. A breakdown wasn’t available at the hearing.
He said: “There is no history of disorder or any other sort of problems involving this applicant or these premises.”
He dismissed concerns about how customers might behave after buying alcohol, saying that once they were away from the store “customers are responsible for their own behaviour in their own right”.
The panel’s decision should be evidence-based, he said, and should not be influenced by fear or speculation about what might happen.
Mr Semper said that Mr Isaac was an experienced licensee – “a highly capable and competent individual who was a trusted postmaster” – had no intention of selling alcohol irresponsibly to anyone.
He said: “Nothing is known to his detriment. The applicant is diversifying into a convenience store and licensed store or it will close in the new year.
“The post office is an unsustainable funding model. That’s not me saying that. It’s from a government review … more than half of branches are at negative or minimal profitability.”
Mr Semper urged the panel not to impose disproportionate or unreasonable conditions that would threaten the viability of the business such as a requirement to deploy door staff, saying that the post office already had adequate security measures in place.
He said that home delivery should be included as part of the licence although Mr Isaac said that if it was a make-or-break factor, he would be willing to forgo the option.
Mr Isaac also said that he was willing to compromise on the licensed hours.
The panel of three councillors – Kerry Pickett, Paul Nann and Ivan Lyons – retired to make their decision which should be made public within five working days.
So let the “Post Office” move into one of the supermarkets, changing this one to another booze hovel helps no-one, if he can’t survive without booze sales then it should close. HUGE NUMBER of booze outlets around, this makes no sense.
The queues in the post office are always so long, this makes no sense at all. There are so many shops around selling alcohol, it’s sadly not a viable business anymore.
Why is it called a newsagent? It no longer sells newspapers.
If he wanted an off-licence he should have bought one.
So he owns a number of other scabby booze emporia with Post Offices and wants to drag this one down too. Why didn’t he buy one of the existing booze hovels and open a Post Office in it?
Once hove church road had a beautiful crown post office next to parris & greening hove town hall now potentially we will have a post area inside a late night off license I hope sense prevails.🤞
A Post Office run properly is a very busy and successful business. Check out out the one in Southwick Square and you will see the evidence. If he didnt think he could make a success of the Post Office why buy it?
Can I just say, if he is reading this. I actively avoid blatchington road post office. It is unbelievably slow to the point it’s almost a joke. 3 Indian lads just chatting in Indian rather than serving people fast.
Till doesn’t sell stamps so you have all those people also queuing for the post office, it’s a joke honestly.
Looks like he bought the post office as a way in to getting a drinks licence in an over populated area of drink selling shops there already.
As a businessman with other shops, he would have known whether or not he could have made a profit from the post office without a drinks licence. He has only just bought the premised so knew the financial score.
By buying a post office and holding the Council to ransom threatening to close it unless he gets his way, the Council should call his bluff and refuse the licence.
The Council should not be held to ransom in this way by a businessman playing a game of chess with them.
It looks like he has no interest at all in the post office, so give the post office licence to a worthier premises in the area, run by a person more willing to keep it open for their customer!.
Then he has a choice to sell the post office and shop or diversify its other goods to make a profit, as I presume he must have done with his other shops.
If this PO goes under, the Nearest is Blatchington Road or Churchill Sq in TG-Jones-formerly WHSmiths.
Boundary Rd PO seems ok in its new Premises-and that’s all it is aswell, not like at the Old Shop, loads of Cards, Toys etc, old and present site don’t rely on Alcohol Sales.
Plenty of places in central Hove sell Alcohol, be good for a shop not to sell Alcohol.
I’m sure I noticed the Shop ( well post office) has a sign up that is has Opening hours for Sundays.
Absolutely disgusting pile on to someone whom is trying to keep local services going in the area.
I have worked for Mur Isaac & family. Mr Isaac runs a tight ship, adherence to rules & regulations second to none, including staff actively aware of their roles in making decisions. I was emboldened to deny certain members of society whom were either under age or drunk to deny purchases of drink or any smoking related paraphernalia.
So do not just make assumptions about a person or their abilities to be law abiding.