Families lose fight against new shop's plan to sell alcohol 18 hours a day

Plans to “revive a derelict” pub in St Neots by turning it into a shop have taken a step forwards, despite some neighbours raising concerns. Proposals have been put forward to turn the former pub The Bulls Head, in Cambridge Street, which closed in 2023, into a Premier shop. A planning application for the conversion is currently being considered by Huntingdonshire District Council.

The authority did agree this week to grant a licence to Nobel Trading (UK) Limited, the company looking to open the shop, to be able to sell alcohol from 6am to midnight. Some neighbours had raised concerns about the length of the opening hours being asked for and shared worries it could lead to antisocial behaviour in the area.

At a hearing to consider the licence application (November 12) some of the neighbours told councillors they were not opposed to the shop opening, but were objecting to the long hours. The neighbours shared their experiences of antisocial behaviour in the area, with one man telling the hearing of an incident where he was assaulted by someone who had been drinking.

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Another neighbour said they were threatened in the past by a drunk person and said they were concerned that the “majority” of people looking to buy alcohol around midnight would “already be inebriated” and “wish to continue drinking”. Nick Semper, a representative of the owners of the company looking to open the shop, said no alcohol would be sold to someone who was inebriated. He also highlighted that the former pub had a licence that allowed it to sell alcohol to 1am on a Friday and Saturday, and that the shop would not be open this late.

Mr Semper said the director of the company, Jeyaseelan Thambirajah, was an “experienced and successful retailer” who ran a number of other shops and had never run into problems with the responsible authorities. He said Mr Thambirajah wanted to provide people in the area with a “wide range of fresh food, groceries and household goods”, with the alcohol sales being a “secondary though important activity”.

Mr Semper highlighted that the police and environmental health officers had not raised any concerns about the application, and said there was no evidence of noise issues, antisocial behaviour, or crime in relation to the premises, or in relation to Mr Thambirajah’s other shops. He said the new shop would “revive a derelict premises” and would provide a “useful and valuable service to the public”.

The district council agreed to grant the alcohol licence as applied for, but imposed additional conditions, including for a bin to be placed outside the front of the shop. Councillors said they had “sympathy” for the neighbours who had raised concerns, but said there was no link between the issues they raised and the applicant.

They added that there was not enough evidence presented to them to show a need to reduce the opening hours that had been asked for. Councillors said they hoped the shop owners would liaise with the people living in the area, so that they could raise any issues. They added that they believed the decision struck a balance between the needs of the business and people living in the area.