BOOS FOR BOURNVILLE BOOZE

28-02-2007

The Stirrer has featured numerous articles over recent weeks from residents in South Birmingham, complaing about the ever expanding number of off-licenses in their area. Lynne Habermacher from Bournville has sent this letter to her MP Lynne Jones after learning that a new Tesco Express has also applied for a permit to sell alcohol in a suburb famous throughout the world for being "dry".

Dear Lynne,

On Sunday, I went to Cllr Nigel Dawkins' meeting re the Licence to sell alcohol, which Tesco's have now applied for. I am just appalled that he said that the Licensing committee would find it difficult to refuse to grant their licence, despite their outlet in Hurst Street twice recently having been found selling alcohol to under-aged youngsters by Trading Standards.

Also how can it be possible that an area with so many Restricted Alcohol signs on the street and in the local parks be considered suitable for an alcohol outlet ? According to Friends of Cotteridge Park, this will bring the total alcohol outlets up to 8 in Cotteridge/Bournville alone.

The UR church was full to capacity for the meeting. Houses in this area are roughly 2 bands higher for council tax purposes than similar houses in surrounding areas, yet our parks and streets are subject to vandalism, underaged drinking parties, not to mention drugs and break-ins.

Is there no way that some kind of social responsibility can be included with the licence, such as the cost of supplying a team of police, street cleaning, youth workers, duty of care to the abused, ie distressed elderly, as these are sorely needed around here and are rarely available.

Surely it is time for the law to be amended so that Alcohol Restricted zones are not allowed to increase alcohol outlets, that there is the right for such licences to be refused or withdrawn, that the volume of vandalism, police presence, street cleaning, unsocial behaviour/hours is seriously taken into account, and the costs of these services be reflected in the licence fee

Yours Lynne Habermacher.

Do you agree with Lynn. Check out the "Cheap Booze" thread in the "News" section of our messageboard.