Neighbours of a shop wanting to sell alcohol until 4am say they are woken up by drunk people in the area which is surrounded by student accommodation.
The Spar in Stretford Road, Hulme, already extended its premises licence last year, allowing it to serve alcohol until 1am during the week and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. It has now asked Manchester council to extend its hours to 4am every night.
However, residents of the neighbouring Loxford and Aquarius estates say this will only exacerbate existing issues with noise, street drinking and littering. One resident who lives in Newcastle Street, told a licensing hearing this week that he has noticed a difference since students have returned to university.
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He said: "Since mid-September, it's common for me to be woken up by people making noise in the street during the week or the weekend. If it's open until 4am, I can only think it's going to get worse."
Speaking on behalf of the Loxford Residents' Group, Karen Welsh, of Knowles Place, said people regularly urinate in the garden directly next door to the Spar. She refuted claims that the extended hours would benefit the community, explaining that residents of her estate do not feel that the Spar is for them.
And she pointed to a sign on the shop advertising its late night booze offer as proof that the purpose of the extended hours is to attract people after alcohol. She said: "We're not shopping for alcohol at that time of night."
Hulme councillor Annette Wright said she receives 'constant complaints' of noise late at night from the residential estates which neighbour the store. Speaking on behalf of Manchester Metropolitan University, community engagement manager Josie Sykes told the licensing panel that there is an issue with 'transient noise, anti-social behaviour and littering' in this area.
The university objected to the application, arguing that selling alcohol until 4am undermines efforts to promote responsible behaviour among students. Greater Manchester Police recommended refusing the application on the grounds that it would further exacerbate anti-social behaviour in the area.
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However, the local authority's licensing team suggested a compromise of allowing the store to sell alcohol until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays only. Representing applicant Rajinder Singh, barrister Sarah Clover said the recent extension of hours has not led to any issues and argued 4am would not either.
She 'categorically' denied claims that the shop sells gas cannisters of the kind found in the street and said there is no evidence of a street drinking problem. And she argued that the council should encourage local businesses seeking to grow, as this store has been, especially in the context of the cost of living crisis.
She said: "These flames should be fanned with ardour, not snuffed out."
The council's licensing panel will announce its decision by the end of this week.
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