Madam, Here we have a fine example of a weak, pusillanimous council which is ruling over us. A new supermarket wants a licence to sell booze from 6am to midnight, seven days a week and yet its opening hours are only 8am to 9pm. It already had a licence to sell alcohol between 8am and 11pm which more than covered its opening hours.
What you may not know is that Ross Town Council objected, the local Police were unhappy and a number of local residents found that their objections to this variation were 'thrown out' by the council's Licensing Authority because they "didn't live or run a business within 100 yards of the store"!
I am told that, "Having carefully considered matters before them, the [Licensing] committee were of the opinion that the application should be granted". Don't be fooled by the siren voices of being 'committed to responsible drinking', this is plain profiteering from the vulnerable. What planet do these decision makers live on allowing permission for a town supermarket to sell alcohol from 6am to midnight? A speech from a smooth-talking London legal advisor, a smartly-dressed store manager from the Midlands? Is that all it takes? Apparently so.
Andrew Meek, Foy