By Huw Oxburgh, Local Democracy Reporter
A Lewes convenience store is seeking an alcohol licence ahead of a potential rebrand.
On Wednesday (August 30), a Lewes District Council licensing panel is expected to consider an application seeking a new premises licence at 54 High Street in Lewes.
The premises currently trades as Martin’s, part of the McColl’s chain of convenience stores, but the application seeks a licence under the Morrisons Daily brand.
McColl’s was bought by the Morrisons group in May last year and the supermarket chain has previously said it plans to convert most of the stores it acquired to its Morrisons Daily format.
The new licence, if approved, would allow the store to sell alcohol between 6am and 11pm, seven days a week. This would suggest the rebranded store would operate significantly longer opening hours than at present.
The hearing has been called as a local resident has raised concerns. The resident, whose name has been redacted from council papers, says the sale of alcohol would change the character of the area and argues the council should impose earlier closing times.
No other parties — including Sussex Police or the council’s environmental health team — have raised concerns about the application, however.
Rebranding of the store is likely to require planning permission, due to the change of signage usually associated with such conversions. This is likely to come at a later date, as there are currently no planning applications connected to the property on either the Lewes District Council or South Downs National Park Authority websites.
