My local store – Bellevue Newsagents on the corner of Bellevue Road and Annandale Street – was granted a drinks licence yesterday, writes Broughton resident Iain McGill.
It appeared to me to have the most obvious case for approval that I could recall – and I’ve been politically active in the area for ages, and licensing spokesman for the New Town and Broughton Community Council for just about as long.
It sits in a row which, when I was at Drummond CHS, included a sandwich shop (now a flat), a hairdresser (now a flat), a launderette (now a flat) and an ice cream factory/shop (now 2 flats).
This last remaining retailer has been struggling – and the owner Johnny Singh is trying hard to keep its head above water.
He’s tried various things – getting coverage in the Spurtle, for example (see issue 192) and making it clear to customers that if he does not stock something they want then they should just tell him and he will.
With the slow creep of supermarkets getting closer (the latest is a soon-to-open Coop on McDonald Road/Hopeton Crescent), it is understandable that he doesn't want to perpetuate any further competitive disadvantage.
But this licence application of his attracted a local split with some two dozen letters submitted in support of or against it.
Some opponents felt it would cause anti-social behaviour, encourage schoolchildren to drink, or result in noise late at night. Others felt that with three Tescos in close proximity and a Coop opening around the corner there was already overprovision in the area.
These arguments did not hold water with me, or the Licensing Committee. There is no problem at the moment with anti-social behaviour focused around the shop, and no reason to believe that there would be in future.
Johnny Singh is a responsible shopkeeper and an asset to the community. He manages very well not to sell cigarettes to schoolchildren, so I see no reason why anyone should assume that part of his business plan involves selling alcohol to them instead. (In any case, the Licensing Committee holds powers to punish licence holders who do this sort of thing.)
He has no plans to extend his opening times, so the licence has been granted till 8.00pm instead of the usual 10.00pm.
I’d urge locals to take the opposite route to that suggested by some of their neighbours, and instead of walking to the supermarket for their drink shopping, drop into Bellevue Newsagents.
Let staff know what you’d like to see stocked and shop local with your family grocer – before we lose him altogether!
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