Former Bristol charity shop to become ‘general store’ with butchery and booze on sale

A new convenience store set to open in Bristol will have a butchery and alcohol on sale seven days a week.

The mini supermarket in Crow Lane, Henbury, will replace charity shop Changing Lives, which closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It will open between 8am and 10pm every day, and will be permitted to sell alcohol after winning a licence on Thursday, March 25.

That makes the shop the sixth licensed premises in the block of shops opposite Barnard Park on Crow Lane, where young people gather to drink, a licensing committee heard.

Solicitor Jeremy Woodcraft, representing applicant Haval Dawood Abdulla, said the “general store” would have a butchery and cold meats section, and would stock a wide range of fruit and vegetables.

He said alcohol sales were “ancillary”, and the store was not trying to compete with a “bargain booze” outlet two doors down.

“It is, of course, important, because people like to be able to get everything in one location, and they are inclined, perhaps not to go to a store if it doesn’t have everything they need,” Woodcraft said.

A condition on the licence, offered by Abdulla, means alcohol will make up no more than a fifth of the goods on display, and spirits will be kept behind the counter, the meeting heard.

But Henbury and Brentry councillor Mark Weston said residents were worried about the effect of having another licensed premise in the stretch of Crow Lane between The Old Crow pub and the Henbury Arms.

He said alcohol was already sold by Aldi supermarket, Bargain Beers, two delicatessens, Iceland and Co-op in the row of shops between the two pubs.

“There’s an awful lot of outlets all selling alcohol and we do have problems in the area,” Cllr Weston said.

“Some of the local residents are, shall we say, a little spicy, and we do have problems with antisocial behaviour, public drinking, and public displays of drunkenness.”

Litter pickers have to sift through a large amount of broken glass on the green space opposite, he added.

That said, residents were looking forward to having a butcher back in local community, Cllr Weston said.

Police did not object to the licence application, which was granted by a Bristol City Council licensing committee.

Committee chair Cllr Barry Clarke said: “We’ve taken into account the arguments brought forward from the community.

“Without any evidence from the police and any representation, it’s hard to base anything on that.”