Tesco has been blocked for a fourth time from selling alcohol at its store in Cambridge’s East Road.
The decision by Cambridge City Council follows concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area.
Tesco applied for permission to sell alcohol between 11am and 8pm from Monday to Sunday.
Representatives for the supermarket said extra measures had been put in place since the previous applications to help staff manage customers.
No objections were raised by the police or any of the other responsible authorities, but a number of people living nearby raised concerns about allowing another shop in the area to sell alcohol, with some claiming there were already problems with street drinkers and anti-social behaviour.
One person said: “I witness too much alcohol-related anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder.
“If Tesco is allowed to sell alcohol, the situation will only worsen; and of course, there are already too many alcohol outlets in such a small part of Cambridge.”
One parent said “frequent incidents” of “alcohol-related anti-social behaviour” along East Road meant they had told their children to “avoid the area altogether”.
Others objectors noted that the shop is opposite a primary school and near to Jimmy’s night shelter where there are “vulnerable” people staying.
Cllr Richard Robertson (Lab, Petersfiedl), the ward councillor, pointed out that there were existing problems with people “misusing alcohol” outside the shop.
He said: “It is a residential area, the fewer stores that have a licence to sell alcohol the better.”
But speaking at a licensing sub-committee meeting on Monday (3 June), a representative of Tesco said: “If the police had any concerns about this application at all they would have objected, that is their role.”
The representative said for the last couple years the store had been tackling the issue of street drinkers outside and explained that when they or people who were homeless sat outside the shop, they were asked to move by staff. It can be “days on end” with nobody sitting outside the store, said the representative, adding that Tesco’s best practice policies included a ‘Think 25’ policy, where staff ask for ID from people they think look under 25.
Councillors were told the supermarket aims to “empower staff to refuse alcohol sales if they have any concerns” and said there were no incentives for staff to sell alcohol. Anti-social behaviour would not be tolerated in store, the meeting heard.
Staff would be prepared to call police and ban people from the shop if needed.
Noting that the shop was not a “traditional” off licence, the representative said alcohol sales in Tesco stores of this size typically made up about five to 12 per cent of total sales.
Extra measures put in place since the last application include staff having control over the doors, enabling them to decide who can come into the shop, with a panic alarm button if needed.
But after considering the application in private, the sub-committee refused the application.
Cllr Russ McPherson (Lab, Cherry Hinton), chair of the cub-committee, gave a number of reasons for the decision, including that councillors did not believe the applicant had shown that granting the licence would not negatively affect the ‘Cumulative Impact Zone’.
He noted that the police area commander had said the existing Cumulative Impact Policy in the area was “necessary and proportionate to prevent crime, disorder, and nuisance”.
Cllr McPherson said: “The security provisions by the premises are indicative of a higher security risk associated with the sale of alcohol, which in itself would not meet the four licensing objectives.
“There have also been representations from local residents and local ward councillors, from cross parties.
“In particular it has been reported that there were incidents of public nuisance and disorderly behaviour in the local children’s playground, as referred to by ward councillors and residents’ representations.”
Cllr McPherson added that the location of the shop opposite a primary school was a concern.
He also said there were “vulnerable persons in the vicinity” at Jimmy’s night shelter, and said this “could increase incidents of anti-social behaviour”.
Tesco can appeal against the decision within 21 days.
