Proposals for 24-hour alcohol sales under council review

Councillors are set to review applications concerning three petrol stations in Sussex that seek permission to sell alcohol for 24 hours daily. Motor Fuel Limited has requested an extension of its off-licence operating hours at two locations: the Brooklands Service Station situated on Brighton Road, Worthing, and the Worthing Service Station on Sompting Avenue. Worthing Borough Councillors will deliberate on this matter on Thursday. The same company has submitted an identical application for its service station located in Seaford, East Sussex. This particular request is scheduled for consideration by Lewes councillors on Monday. Presently, the existing licences permit the sale of alcohol from 06:00 until 23:00. The South Broadwater Residents’ Association has voiced its opposition to the Sompting Avenue application “in the strongest possible terms,” asserting that such an extension would lead to a rise in crime, increased noise, and gatherings of drinkers that could attract drug dealers. Sussex Police has also formally objected to the Brooklands application, stating that it would have a “negative impact” on the local community. The police force noted that the site is “located within an area for street drinking and youth anti-social behaviour.” Mike Whiting, a resident who has lived near the Brooklands site for 40 years, shared his perspective. “On the other side of the petrol station there’s a park,” he informed BBC Radio Sussex. He further commented, “it’s going to attract all sorts of ne’er-do-wells, and then there’ll be an area where you can get drunk and drugs taken.” Mr. Whiting added, “It’ll become a nasty area to police, it’ll change the character of this area completely.” Svitlana Westgate expressed similar concerns to those raised by Mr. Whiting. She stated: “They’ll create a criminal space here, because they will be drinking at night, shouting, fighting.” Conversely, Natasha Gilliam indicated her willingness to extend the applicants the benefit of the doubt. “It’s not a significantly residential area,” she remarked, adding, “so some of the concerns feel quite unfounded.” She continued: “Very late at night you don’t get a lot of traffic, I can’t see it’s going to cause a significant increase.” Gilliam concluded: “It is a bit of a wait and see, people seem very good at anticipating things to worry about when maybe there isn’t going to be anything to worry about.”