Letter from The Knowle Society’s chairman to the Residents of Cook Close regarding a licence application at the Murco garage.
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December 2007
Residents in Kenilworth Road,
Cook Close, and Wilsons Road
Knowle.
Dear Resident
Licence Application by Murco, Kenilworth Road.
You may be aware that Murco have lodged an application for a licence to sell alcohol at their garage, which is known as Jet, between the hours of 8.00 am and 11.00 pm.
The date for any more objections has now elapsed, but Knowle Society managed to have an objection lodged just in time.
For the objection to be accepted by the Licensing Authority the Society needs the support of as many residents as possible that will be affected by the granting of such a licence.
The grounds for the objection are two fold. Namely: 1. The safety of children. The granting of a licence would mean that alterations will be carried out at the garage obviously incorporating having an attractive window display, probably incorporating childrens items and toys. This would mean that children will want to leave vehicles on the forecourt in order to enter the shop with a view to viewing the goods being advertised. This will be a potential danger to those children. In addition there is already a major problem with under-age drinking in and around the centre of the village and the park. This garage is on a side road and will attract such youngsters to pester adults to purchase alcohol for them. This means that they will be close to several vehicle movements, thereby putting themselves at risk. In addition of course as nearby residents you may well be disturbed by children gathering in your area. 2. Public Safety. It is incongruous for a garage to have a licence to sell alcohol. Surely this sends the wrong message concerning drinking and driving. H M Government has recently confirmed that no licence application will be considered for any Motorway Service Area to sell alcohol. That message must be maintained at a local level as well.
The date for the hearing is not yet known, but your support is requested to support the Societys application urgently. Please telephone 01564 779955 and leave your name, address and contact number. Thank you.
Gary Masters
Chairman.
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January 2007.
38 Stourton Close
Knowle
Solihull
West Midlands
B93 9NP
Dear Friend
Licence Application by Murco Garage, Kenilworth Road.
The Hearing by the Solihull M B C Licensing Committee was held on Thursday 21 December 2006 in the Council Chambers at 6.00 pm.
The Applicants were represented by a barrister who put the case for his clients that the garage unit would be redeveloped as a Costcutter Express outlet, incorporating the sale of mixed provisions and alcohol. He then answered questioned raised by the three man panel. It was followed by the objectors in the shape of Inspector Peter Wilson for West Midlands Police, Councillor Jeff Potts representing the ward, and me representing Knowle Society and the residents who had raised their concerns. In turn we were also questioned.
The panel retired to reach their verdict, and eventually at 8.40 pm returned to state that the licence would be granted for the hours of Monday to Saturday 6.00 am to 11.00 pm, and on Sunday 7.00 am to 10.00 pm, with certain conditions. These are:
- That full CCTV is reinstalled in full consultation with the local Rural Police Inspector before trading in alcohol. Such CCTV footage is retained for a period of 30 days.
- After 10 00 pm the entrance door to the station be locked and any transactions to be made through a secure serving hatch.
It is now required that the outlet comply with the conditions imposed and that any problem be reported to the police and the Licensing Officer at the Council. Please bear this in mind over the period when the new-look is in operation.
Perhaps next time the objectors case will be more successful.
Gary Masters
Chairman.