Fears that late night alcohol sales at a new Nisa in Woodley could bring crime and anti-social behaviour have been raised by a concerned neighbour.
An application for a licence to sell alcohol at the former site of Just Tiles on Headley Road is set to be considered by Wokingham Borough Council next week.
Nisa originally wanted permission to sell alcohol as late as 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. It also wanted to sell alcohol until midnight from Mondays to Thursdays and until 11pm on Sundays.
But the firm agreed to reduce its proposed opening hours to between 6am and 11pm every day after a resident raised a ‘strong objection’.
A resident of Loddon Bridge Road, close to where the shop would open, feared the late night alcohol sales could ‘exacerbate’ antisocial behaviour.
The neighbour said: “The cumulative effect of multiple venues selling alcohol in proximity, especially during late-night hours, could exacerbate noise disturbances, public disorder, and anti-social behaviour, affecting the calmness of the neighbourhood.”
The neighbour claimed Thames Valley Police figures show that over the past year there had been “more than 10 reported instances of violence and sexual offences as well as criminal damage & arson nearby.
The final decision is set to be made by councillors on Wokingham Borough’s licensing and appeals sub-committee next Tuesday.
