Denying booze bid won’t solve problems in the area, Erdington shop argues

Intimidating street drinkers who even held summer barbecues on Erdington pavements are worrying residents, a ward councillor has warned.

Councillor Gareth Moore told Birmingham City’s licensing sub committee that granting a booze permit to Station Supermarket, on Station Road, would exacerbate problems already being suffered in the area.

Representatives for the store said the owners wanted to add a small section of alcohol to the existing business and that “stringent” conditions would be part of the licence.

At a meeting on Tuesday (December 14) both ward councillors and police raised concerns that it would add to anti-social behaviour suffered in the area.

They also argued it was close to Erdington High Street which has serious issues with street drinking and was covered by a cumulative impact policy.

But barrister Duncan Craig, speaking for the applicants, said the policy has been expired for over a year and the problems would not be solved by refusing applications.

He also said Station Road was an “eight minute walk” from the High Street which had well documented issues.

He said: “There is no doubt there is a problem in Erdington of cheap booze, street drinkers drinking early in the day, descending on Erdington from other parts of the city – it seems to be a magnet for those people.

“But the answer to that is not to reduce the number of off licences that are available in the area but it is to change the dynamic of what is being offered by those premises.

“The issue here is not these premises but there is an issue in the area not being tackled.

“The problem still exists and refusing this licence is not going to make that go away. The problem is going to continue.

“What needs to happen here, in my view, is there needs to be more stringent conditions placed upon other premises.

“The conditions on this licence are so stringent that what they do is raise the bar in the area so if there are other reviews you can say, ‘they’ve got restrictions in place and I want you to have them’.

“My clients are two guys, a pair of grafters. They just want to have the ability to sell alcohol in conjunction and run their premises responsibly.

“They are nothing to do with what’s gone on, all they want to do is run a business in a legitimate way.

“Given the fact their isn’t a cumulative impact policy in place, this application goes way above and beyond what would normally be the case in recognition there are issues in the area.”

Councillor Moore said: “There are issues on Station Road itself. Locals state street drinking and anti-social behaviour is very different to what takes place on the High Street.

“The two are very close together. The High Street is two minutes away.

“The issues are distinct as it is mainly around the train station. It is late night drinking, they sit around St Georges Avenue, they sit around St Thomas’ Association car park, they sit in the train station and sit around drinking from cans.

“And that’s always evident in the morning as there is a pile of cans which station staff have to clear up.

“They are pretty loud and causing all sorts of nuisance to residents nearby. Over the years, we’ve had concerns from residents about the congregation of those particularly drinking at night.

“But we also have an element of day drinking on Johnson Road. It’s on the corner and used to be a Ladbrokes, which has now moved off and is an example of a business leaving this area because of the problems associated with it.

“These people live within the vicinity of the premises. They congregate at all hours of the day throughout the summer, in large numbers and sometimes they’ve even stuck a large barbecue on the pavement and had a drink.

“It causes all sorts of nuisance and we’ve had many complaints, particularly from women who feel unsafe coming home from work, getting off at the train station and have to walk through this.

“The station is a magnet which attracts a lot of people so it doesn’t give a very inviting image of Erdington  when you get off the train and you’ve got all these people lounging around, swearing, sometimes smoking drugs and drinking in the streets.

“Station Road was covered in the cumulative impact policy. I appreciate it is not enforced at the moment but that doesn’t mean the problem isn’t there.”