Campaigners are fighting to keep a new off-licence in a neighbourhood troubled by drink-related anti-social behaviour.
A planning application for the establishment of a new off-licence on the junction between Harehills Road and Ashley Road was submitted to Leeds City Council last week. The shop would sell alcohol between 9am and 10pm.
However, Harehills Councillor Salma Arif has said the area cannot handle another store selling alcohol as it has been struggling with nuisance street drinkers and crime. It also falls under Leeds' Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) which means bids for new alcohol licences are likely to be rejected unless applicants can demonstrate they will improve the locality.
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Councillor Arif said: “From my perspective, my stance is still the same as it always has been. I’m very, very clear we don’t want another off licence.
“We’ve got far too many as it is and there is a saturation at the moment.
“It is smack bang within the cumulative impact zone, so the council’s licensing department, public health and the police are all pulling together to submit objections.”
An application for another off-licence was rejected just two months ago in June after police told a licensing hearing that Harehills had become a “holiday resort” for street drinkers, because of the availability of cheap booze. It was the fourth such application to be knocked back since the CIA was extended to cover Harehills.
The store had promised to only sell alcohol to customers who purchased at least £5 worth of groceries in a move aimed at “designing out” street drinkers coming in. It still failed to get approval.
Councillor Arif said that the knock-on effects of street drinking in the area were causing public safety and child welfare issues. “We’ve got lots of children in the area and it’s not something they want to see every day,” she said.
“I’ve encouraged local residents to submit objections to me and I’ve had quite a big response already to that.”
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