Ayr tobacconist lodges in-store alcohol bid
SOUTH Ayrshire Licensing Board has been asked to grant an alcohol licence to an Ayr tobacconist in the town centre.
TH Dalling, in Burns Statue Square, applied for a licence for ‘small, specialist alcohol’ section, with a display area of 9.14 square metres (sqm).
Sales would be from 10am to 10pm daily for off sales only.
The board heard that there have been no objections or representations made regarding the application.
South Ayrshire Council does not operate with a presumption against granting alcohol licenses on the basis of overprovision.
A number of authorities’ licensing boards, such as neighbouring East Ayrshire, have acknowledged the problem with alcohol abuse, and have adopted an approach that deems new applications to be considered as an ‘overprovision’.
In doing so they refuse to approve applications unless the board can be persuaded otherwise.
South Ayrshire opted to take a less strict approach.
However, they do consider the number and density of alcohol licences granted in a specific area.
In this application, the board was presented with information on the existing on and off sales within 500m of the tobacconist.
There are only two off-sales only licences in place, at Morrisons supermarket and the Drinks Cellar.
The supermarket is significantly larger than the Drinks Cellar, with an alcohol display of 215.42 square metres for the former and 22.6 square metres for the latter.
The TH Dalling application is for a display less than half the latter area.
Other licensed premises within the 500-metre radius are either on-sales only or on and off sales, where premises can sell alcohol to be consumed off the premises.
There are seven on-sales outlets in the vicinity of the store, with a capacity of 1,177 persons, and 14 on and off sales, with a total capacity of 1,848.
When the board last considered its policy on over-provision, it discounted any view on either premises which only sold alcohol for consumption on the premises, or those which sold to on the premises or allowed customers to take drinks away with them.
This decision, made in 2018, was based on the view that they were well managed.