Alcohol licence for Higham Ferrers market square shop approved

Higham Local, at 1 Market Square, went before North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) on Wednesday, July 1, to ask if it would be allowed to sell booze between 6am and 2am every day.

Residents’ concerns that the late-night opening hours would encourage anti-social behaviour and create extra noise for nearby homes led the applicant to propose reduced times to be more in keeping with the surrounding area.

The authority’s licensing team received more than 50 representations from residents ahead of the meeting.

An 81-year-old man, who lives near the convenience store, told the licensing meeting many residents living near the shop were “quite elderly and also quite vulnerable”.

He said: “Quite frequently at night, the alleyways turn in character and they become impromptu drinking parlours.

“At least at the moment, when the alcohol supply runs out for people, they go home.

“Now we’re faced with the prospect of them being able to buy more alcohol into the small hours.

“It seems to me quite unnecessary and likely to cause increased drunkenness. It would permanently change the character of our lovely medieval town.”

Another nearby resident added: “People do not come to Higham to buy cheap alcohol. We do not need an extra supply of alcohol in the town.

“If [pub patrons] want to continue their revelries, they will trip straight out, they will go to this shop, and they will continue to party on the market square.

“This is not Higham Local, this is a mini-mart in the centre of a historic marketplace.”

The clerk of Higham Ferrers Town Council also spoke at the licensing meeting, highlighting regular instances of park wardens finding litter and broken glass from smashed alcohol bottles on the square.

She asked for the opening times of the shop to be brought in line with other establishments in the area, with the sale of alcohol ending at 11pm.

During the meeting, a representative of the shop apologised for any concerns the late hours had caused residents.

They agreed to reduce the proposed hours to stop selling alcohol at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 11pm on other days of the week.

“There have been no objections from any of the other responsible authorities, but I think having a reduction of hours will at least alleviate concerns that residents have,” they explained.

NNC’s licensing committee said they acknowledged the concerns raised by residents, but that they were only able to consider existing evidence and had confirmation from Northamptonshire Police that there was not a significant record of anti-social behaviour in the area.

The licence was granted between 6am to 11pm on Sundays to Thursdays and 6am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.