A flood of objections has been lodged with Dundee City Council’s licensing board against four new applications for off-sales at shops in the city.
Shop premises at Nethergate, Hilltown, Stobswell and in Blackness Road have all applied for provisional off-sale licences, which will be considered at the licensing board’s meeting next Thursday.
Petitions and letters of objection to all four have now been lodged with the board.
One application, for premises at 31 Hilltown by Mr Mohammed Asif, has attracted a 100-signature petition and is accompanied by almost 40 letters objecting to the proposal.
Another, at 92 Nethergate by Mr Frank Tindall, has attracted more than 30 local signatures on a petition, plus several letters of objection, including one from Dundee West MP Jim McGovern on behalf of his constituents.
Meanwhile, the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership has objected to plans to open a Spar with off-sales at the former Blockbuster shop at 223-227 Albert Street, on the grounds of over-provision.
Their objection follows consultation within the Maryfield Ward and in the letter chairman David Lynch says the views expressed by the local community “were clear in that they consider the area had too many off-sales already”.
The Stobswell Forum also objected to the application, while 17 other objections have been lodged.
However, more than 60 letters from members of the public backing the application have also been lodged with the council. Councillor Fraser Macpherson has written to the board objecting to an application to open an off-sales at 214 Blackness Road.
His objection is over the opening hours. Mr Macpherson says any licence should be restricted to 4pm availability of off-sales due to its proximity to schools in the area.
Earlier this month groups battling the rise in alcohol addiction in Dundee warned the authorities against allowing more off-sales shops in the city amid concern there are already too many.
The council’s development management committee this week approved a change of use planning application for premises in City Road to convert to an off-sales shop, which residents had objected to.
The matter will now be decided by the licensing board.