Licensing policy is clearly inadequate (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Licensing policy is clearly inadequate

2:20pm Friday 6th November 2009 in

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SIR — Re your excellent editorial concerning the granting of a licence to sell alcohol to the BP station in St Cross Road, I would like to make the following comments.

The general consensus among the many people I have spoken to who attended the hearing, is that the outcome was disappointing and the hearing a complete shambles.

People living in St Cross were aggrieved by the BP application.

A number of residents wrote in individually to complain about the application, many of whom were told that they were not deemed interested parties, would be welcome to attend the hearing, but would not be permitted to address the sub-committee.

In addition, two separate petitions were handed to the licensing team. One from the Kitchen Dancers, St Cross Women’s Institute, with approximately 25 names, and one from flats in the area with approximately 40 names.

We have no idea of the total numbers involved, but in the end, only 65 applications from residents were considered relevant.

Approximately 65 people turned up on the morning of Friday, October 9, at the Guildhall.

Many of these people had taken time off work in order to be there, so it would have been helpful if we had been ready to go at 9.30am.

Points of law should have been clarified at the start of the meeting instead of having the debate of what the premises actually are — are they a petrol station, a convenience store or both?

At this point the BP solicitor moved the goal posts — withdrawing BP’s application for overnight sale of food and reducing the hours for the sale of alcohol from 0800 to 2300, to 0800 to 2200.

This change was permitted by the chairman. It cannot be right that the case prepared by local residents should be undermined by such sleight of hand.

The Licensing Policy is clearly inadequate and needs amending.

It would seem, given the permitted grounds for objection, the protesters from St Cross had little chance of defeating the amended terms of the application.

Katharine M Heathcote, St Cross Road, Winchester.